Ousmane Dembélé Laughs Off Ballon d'Or Pressure

Ousmane Dembélé knew the spotlight would change once his name was called for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. What he did not intend to do was bow to it.

Since lifting football’s most coveted individual prize, the Paris Saint-Germain winger has found himself dissected on every platform, every weekend, every touch. He insists he is unmoved.

"I don't care about being criticised, it's part of the game," he told RMC in an interview picked up by "France Football". "You will always be criticised in football, and it increases when you are the holder of the Ballon d'Or."

He knows exactly what comes with the golden ball: a magnifying glass.

"I have won the biggest individual award, so I am now under the microscope more," he said. "This makes me laugh, you are constantly watched, but it doesn't bother me."

A new standard after the Ballon d'Or

The numbers since his coronation are not those of a player hiding from expectation. Dembélé played 40 matches for PSG across all competitions in 2025-26, scoring 20 goals and providing 11 assists. He has become a reference point in Luis Enrique’s attack, not just a highlight-reel dribbler.

For him, the Ballon d'Or is less a trophy on a shelf and more a demand on the pitch.

"You have to be strong all the time," he explained. "You have to put in a good performance in every match, otherwise everyone will start talking about you and criticising you. This is funny, but it doesn't change anything, the criticism will always be there."

The message is clear: the noise is permanent, so it no longer registers.

Where he feels the biggest shift is in his impact in the biggest games. In the Champions League, Dembélé scored in every match he played from the quarter-final second leg onwards. When the season narrowed to defining nights, he delivered.

"I was clearly better in the decisive moments, and that is important," he said. "Isn't that the number one criterion?"

Those late-season bursts did not happen by accident. Early in the campaign, injuries slowed him and forced PSG’s staff to manage his minutes, keeping him fresh for spring. The plan paid off when the stakes rose and the pressure sharpened around the Ballon d'Or holder.

No obsession with defending the crown

The next vote is already looming, but Dembélé is not being mentioned among the main favourites to retain the award. The idea does not trouble him.

"This is football," he said. "The Ballon d'Or was never an obsession for me. It was a goal or a dream, yes, but it was never an obsession."

There is no talk of legacy or dynasties, just a simple wish.

"I hope the best player wins," he added.

Kvaratskhelia, not Dembélé, gets his vote

Ask him who that "best player" is right now, and Dembélé does not hesitate. He looks across his own dressing room.

His choice for Ballon d'Or? Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian forward who has lit up Paris Saint-Germain since his arrival.

England captain Harry Kane and former PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappé complete Dembélé’s top three. It is a list that says plenty about the attackers he admires most: ruthless finishers, decisive in the final third, unafraid of the big stage.

Would he ever put his own name on that ballot?

"No, if I were the one choosing, I would not put myself on the list and I would not vote for myself," he replied, blunt as a tackle.

It is a stance that contrasts sharply with Mbappé’s. The France striker has openly admitted that, if the decision were his, he would back himself in the Ballon d'Or race.

Two superstars, two philosophies. One will vote for himself. The other laughs at the scrutiny and hands his support to a team-mate.

Dembélé, for now, seems content to let the debates rage around him while he keeps answering the only question that truly matters to him: what happens when the ball rolls and the lights go up.