Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati claimed the women's Ballon d'Or for the third year on the trot on Monday night as Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembl took the men's award for his starring role in his side's glory-drenched ride to four trophies.

Dembl becomes thesixth Frenchmanto win the men's prize since supremos atFrance Football.magazine established the award in 1956 to salute the best player in Europe.

Bonmatiand her fellow Spaniard, Alexia Putellas, have harvested five of the seven women's awards since its inception in 2018.

"It's exceptional what I've been living through," said Dembl after receiving the award from the Brazilian former player Ronaldinho.

"It has been a great year with PSG and to win this trophy and collect it from Ronaldinho one of the legends of our sport is a moment of great pride for me."

Choking back the tears, Dembl praised coaches at his first club Rennes as well as those at Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona where he played before signing for PSG in 2023.

"Thank you to all the staff at PSG," he added. And after singling out PSG coach Luis Enrique as a father figure, Dembl said: "Thank you to all my teammates. You kept my spirits up in the good moments and the bad moments. Even if I'm picking up an individual trophy, it's the collective that is ultimately winning."

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Dembl leads the PSG pack

Dembl was among eightPSG playerswho were vying for the men's award.Gigi Donnarumma,who moved to Manchester City this month, was nominated for the accolade for his exploits as goalkeeper for the team.

The 26-year-oldfinished in ninth place in the voting but did not leave the gala ceremony empty handed.

The Italy skipper won the Trophe Yachine for his feats with PSG who were anointed team of the year.

Dembl was at the ceremony at the Thtre du Chtelet in central Paris with fellow PSG nominees Dsir Dou and Joao Neves who missed the club's trip for the Ligue 1 clash at Marseille due to injury.

The France international was hailed for his performances during an all-conquering 2024/2025 season.

He scored eight times and set up six goals in 15 matches during aChampions Leaguecampaign that culminated ina 5-0 annihilationof Inter Milan in the final in Munich on 31 May.

He also played a key role in PSG's second successive domestic trebleFrench Super Cup, Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France.

Enrique won the Trophe Cryuff for male coach of the year award for steering the team to the triumphs.

Since taking over from Christophe Galtierin July 2023,the 55-year-old Spaniard has led his charges to successive domestic trebles and orchestrated the Champions League triumph.

Though there was a surpriseloss to Chelseain the final of the Club World Cup in the United States, PSG recovered to win theUefa Super Cupjust before the start of the Ligue 1 season in August.

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In other awards, Viktor Gyokeres received the Gerd Mller Trophy to honour the striker of the year.Playing for Sporting Lisbon and Sweden, he netted 54 goals in 52 matches to top the scoring charts across the continent.

The strikes helped Sporting win the Primeira Liga and Taca de Portugal.

Ewa Pajo at Barcelona lifted the women's award while Arsenal's women were handed the club of the year prize for their surge to the women's Champions League crown inMay.

"I'm proud to come from a club that started its women's team in 1987," said Arsenal coachRene Slegers.

"Thank you to our owners and our supporters. They drive us with the sold-out crowds at the Emirates. Invest in women. Invest in women's sport. When we do that, all of us benefit," she added.

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Lamal wins young player of the year

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, who came second in the polling for the Ballon d'Or, won the Trophe Kopa for the best young male player under 21 for the second year on the trot.

The 18-year-old saw off the PSG duo of Dou and Neves as well as Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi.

"I'd like to thank everyone at the club and all my teammates and all my family," said Lamal. "It's important to keep working hard to be able to win more trophies."

Barcelona striker Vicky Lopez won the Trophe Kopa for female players under 21.

In a double success for England,Sarina Wiegman was given theTrophe Cruyff as best female coach and the Chelsea and England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton took the inaugural Trophe Yachine for the best female goalkeeper.

Wiegman, 55, was hailed for leading the England national team to a second women's European championships.

The Lionesses beat Spain following a penalty shoot-out at St Jakob-Park in Basel in July to retain the crown they won in 2022 at Wembley at the expense of Germany.

Hampton, 24, was saluted for a 2024/2025 season in which she kept13 clean sheets in 22 league appearances for Chelsea.

The west Londoners won theEnglish WSLas the first team to go unbeaten in a 22-game season.

She capped her season with crucial stops in England's run to the European crown including two saves in the penalty shoot-out in the final.

Originally published on RFI