Overview

• Ousmane Dembélé claimed his first Ballon d'Or after a 35-goal, 16-assist season driving PSG to the Champions League and a domestic sweep.
• Lamine Yamal finished runner-up for the men's prize and retained the Kopa Trophy, with PSG's Vitinha taking third place.
• Aitana Bonmatí secured the women's Ballon d'Or for a third consecutive year, extending Barcelona's dominance of the award.
• PSG players largely skipped the Paris gala due to a Marseille league match shifted to the same night, and Real Madrid again sent no delegation as its boycott continued.
• Pre-gala reports suggested the winner had leaked in advance, reviving transparency concerns after last year's controversy; among Germans, Florian Wirtz placed 29th and no major awards were won.