Kylian Mbappé says Ousmane Dembélé ‘deserves’ to win Ballon d’Or | OneFootball

Ousmane Dembélé (28) has the full support of his national team captain in the race to win the Ballon d’Or.

Kylian Mbappé (26) reiterated his support over the weekend for his former teammate at Paris Saint-Germain. Dembélé is the perceived front-runner to claim the award.

“Does he deserve it?” For me, yes,” the captain of Les Bleus said in a recent interview with Téléfoot via L’Équipe.

Mbappé, who won the Golden Shoe award as the top goalscorer at club level in Europe last season, had said in June that Dembélé is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or. Last season, Dembélé scored eight goals in the UEFA Champions League, helping PSG lift the trophy for the first time. He also netted 21 times in 29 domestic appearances, finishing as the joint top-goalscorer in Ligue 1 alongside Mason Greenwood (23).

Mbappé went on to say that he hopes his former PSG teammate Achraf Hakimi (26) ranks well in the final Ballon d’Or voting. Dembélé was injured for France in their 2-0 victory over Ukraine in World Cup qualifying on Friday. In 2024, Mbappé was fifth in the voting for the prestigious award, which was won by Manchester City’s Rodri (29).

There are four French players in the running for the Ballon d’Or on the men’s side: Dembélé, Mbappé, Michael Olise (23) and Desiré Doué (20). The last Frenchman to win the award was Karim Benzema (37) during his time at Real Madrid in 2022.

The Ballon d’Or winner will be announced on September 22 in Paris.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre