Lionel Messi reacts to PSG’s Ousmane Dembele winning Ballon d’Or

Lionel Messi reacted to his former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) teammate Ousmane Dembele winning the Ballon d’Or 2025.

Dembele was crowned the winner of the 2025 Men’s Ballon d’Or at a glittering ceremony in Paris on Monday.

Dembele played a decisive role in PSG’s historic campaign, guiding the club to its first-ever UEFA Champions League triumph.

Dembele was ranked above Lamine Yamal in second and Vitinha third.

After winning the award, PSG striker shared a post on his Instagram account expressing delight at winning the award.

"Lots of joy, pride and emotion. A dream come true. Thank you to all those who have always supported me throughout this journey. #ballondor"

Lionel Messi commented on his post, writing:

"Great Ous!!! Congratulations, I'm very happy for you. You deserve it"

The French forward had an outstanding 2024-25 season, recording 35 goals and 16 assists in 53 appearances across competitions for treble-winners PSG.

However, Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraou, believes his son is the best player in the world right now and ‘this is the biggest moral damage done to a human being’ by giving the Ballon d’Or award to Dembele instead of Lamine Yamal.

"I think this is the biggest, I won't say theft, but moral damage done to a human being because I believe Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world by far, by a huge margin," Nasraou said.

"It's not because he's my son but because he's the best player in the world. I believe there are no rivals. Lamine is Lamine Yamal. Something very strange has happened here. Next year there will be a Spanish Ballon d'Or winner."