Ousmane Dembele has been crowned the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League Player of the Season after leading Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to a historic European success.
Dembele was instrumental in PSG’s treble-winning campaign under Luis Enrique, helping the Parisians lift the Champions League, Ligue 1, and Coupe de France titles.
PSG capped off their dominant season with a record-breaking 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in Saturday’s Champions League final, the largest margin of victory in the history of the competition’s final.
Historic numbers and individual brilliance
Dembele’s overall impact in the tournament was massive. His 14 goal involvements (8 goals, 6 assists) rank as the second-most by a French player in a single Champions League campaign; only Karim Benzema’s 17 for Real Madrid in 2021/22 exceeded that tally.
Benzema went on to win the Ballon d’Or after his exploits, and PSG boss Luis Enrique suggested on Saturday that Dembele now deserves the same recognition.
Dembele was selected as the tournament’s best player by UEFA’s technical observer panel, which includes top coaches and former internationals such as Gareth Southgate, Rafa Benitez, and Roberto Martinez.
“As well as his eight goals, Dembele has taken on the role of a leader in the PSG team,” read the panel’s report.
“In the final, he worked tirelessly, pressing from the front. Match after match, his clever movement created problems for opponents by dropping deep and creating midfield superiority.”
Only Barcelona’s Raphinha (13 goals, 8 assists) and Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy (13 goals, 4 assists) had more goal involvement than Dembele in this season’s competition. He also matched Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s PSG record of most goals (10) in a single Champions League campaign, set in 2013/14.
Doue shines as Young Player of the Season
Dembele’s teammate, Desire Doue, won the UEFA Young Player of the Season award. The 19-year-old made history in the final, becoming the first player to record three goal involvements in a Champions League final and just the third teenager to score in the fixture after Patrick Kluivert (1995) and Carlos Alberto (2004).
Fellow 19-year-old Senny Mayulu also scored in the final, further highlighting PSG’s youthful brilliance.
Champions League Team of the Season announced
Dembele and Doue were both named in the Champions League Team of the Season, joined by PSG teammates Vitinha, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Marquinhos, and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Other notable inclusions were Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni, Arsenal’s Declan Rice, and Barcelona wingers Raphinha and Lamine Yamal. Yamal also earned the Goal of the Season award for his stunning solo strike against Inter in the semi-final first leg.
