Dembele Affirms He Deserves To Win Ballon D'Or After Helping PSG Beat Real Madrid

Ousmane Dembele became PSG's key player and became a strong candidate for the Ballon d'Or (Instagram/@psg).

JAKARTA - Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique hopes to rely on striker Ousmane Dembele for the 2025 Club World Cup final match against Chelsea on Sunday, July 13, 2025, or Monday, July 14, 2025, early morning WIB.

The seeded Ballon d'Or winner was rested throughout the group stage after suffering a thigh injury while serving with the French National Team and only appearing as a substitute in the knockout round.

Only in the semifinals against Real Madrid on Thursday, July 10, 2025, early morning WIB, Dembele appeared as a starter. He brought Les Parisiens a 4-0 win over the La Liga giant.

He immediately gave an impact, helping Fabian Ruiz score the opener in the sixth minute before scoring the team's second goal three minutes later at the MetLife Stadium.

Luis Enrique previously told reporters he believed Dembele deserved the Ballon d'Or.

In the match against Los Blancos, the coach had no doubt that the French player once again showed he deserved the highest individual football award.

"I want to emphasize that this is the first game where I see my best player, Dembele, in his best form,"

"We rarely see him throughout this tournament. He is a crucial player, a unique player, a player who wants to be seen by every fan. Hopefully we can have him in the final," Enrique said after the game.

The 2025 Club World Cup trophy will mark a brilliant ending for an extraordinary season. You see, Luis Enrique brought the team to a treble win 5-0 over Inter Milan in the Champions League final in his second year with the team.

"We have one game left not only to make history, but also to build the history of Paris, a French club that may win every trophy, every tournament. This is very important for us, for our supporters," said the coach.

The 2025 Club World Cup final is scheduled for Sunday, July 13, 2025, at 15.00 local time, at the MetLife Stadium to close the inaugural edition of the FIFA interclub tournament which was attended by 32 teams.

Real Madrid have collected 15 European titles and five world titles, an achievement that began two decades ago in the Galacticos era containing David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, and Luis Figo. Then, they towered further thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo from 2009-2018 and the rise of social media.

PSG have not won a Ligue 1 title since 1995, before Qatar Sports Investments took over in 2011.

Les Parisien has won 11 of 13 French championships since 2013 and matched the Real Madrid star collection when his squad consisted of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. However, it was only at the end of May 2025 that they became the best in Europe.

It turns out that PSG is now bigger without the presence of the stars.

"We have all made history, namely the players, staff, sporting directors, managers, supporters, we have all made history," said Luis Enrique, who was recruited in July 2023.

PSG dominated each aspect with a 631-255 advantage in successful passes and 67 percent possession, including 76.5 percent in the first half.

Throughout the 2025 Club World Cup, they have also scored 16 goals and conceded just one goal in six matches.

Ruiz scored three goals, two goals each from Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, and Joao Neves, as well as one goal each from Desire Doue, Lee Kang-in, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Senny Mayulu, Goncalo Ramos, and Vitinha.

PSG have not conceded a single goal since losing 0-1 to Botofogo in the second match of the group stage.

"We are very happy to be able to reach the final again. Now we have to enjoy it because we are doing something historic."

"It is very difficult to reach every final of this season. Now, we are one step away," Ruiz said.