2025 Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé is starting Kylian Mbappé’s campaign for the award on his behalf.
Dembélé was named the best player in the world at the 2025 ceremony after a historic campaign with Paris Saint-Germain. Despite stiff competition from Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal, Dembélé accepted the award after guiding PSG to their first Champions League triumph.
After climbing the summit himself, Dembélé made his feelings known on his France compatriot and former PSG teammate winning the award in the future.
“I hope he wins it, he deserves it for his career. He’s had a very good start to the season, he keeps scoring goals. He’s a friend of mine, I hope he continues like this. I hope one day he wins the Ballon d’Or,” Dembélé said to the media after PSG’s thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen.
World Cup Likely to Play Role in 2026 Ballon d’Or
Dembélé and Mbappé only played together for one season at the club level in Paris, but have been longtime France teammates.
Mbappé had a stellar debut season with Real Madrid, but coming up short in every competition hurt his odds of winning the Ballon d’Or back in September. Question marks remain around Xabi Alonso’s maiden season leading Los Blancos, but the World Cup could prove a back door for Mbappé to follow in Dembélé’s footsteps.
Luka Modrić notably won the 2018 award over Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi thanks to his Croatia heroics in the World Cup that year. He was part of the same Real Madrid side alongside Ronaldo that conquered Europe, but the World Cup likely proved a decisive tiebreaker.
The same could be said for Lionel Messi after winning the 2023 award for guiding Argentina to glory in Qatar—the same year Mbappé achieved his highest Ballon d’Or shortlist finish (third) after scoring a hat-trick in the final.
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Mbappé has started the 2025-26 season on fire with 15 goals and two assists in all competitions. If he keeps up his stellar form, he’ll be a favorite for the 2026 honor.
If he comes up short in the Champions League, but perhaps takes home some domestic silverware and the biggest international prize, Mbappé could become the seventh French player to win the Ballon d’Or.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ousmane Dembele Pushes For Teammate to Win Ballon d’Or Next.