Surprise on the Ballon d'Or stage! Dembele wins his dream trophy

All speculations ended at the Ballon d'Or held in Paris. This prestigious trophy for the best footballer in the world has now gone to Ousmane Dembele. The PSG star became the sixth French footballer to receive this recognition of personal excellence.

Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema had previously won the Ballon d'Or for France. With the addition of Dembele, French footballers have now won the Ballon d'Or a total of 8 times. In this, France as a country has touched Argentina.

However, there is a big difference in the success of the two countries. Six footballers for France have won it eight times, while Lionel Messi alone has won it for Argentina 8 times. Which is the record for the most Ballon d'Or wins by a single footballer.

The story of Messi's Ballon d'Or win is also exciting. After winning for the first time in 2009, he won the trophy three times in a row from 2010 to 2012. Then he became the best again in 2015. Messi has taken his record even higher by winning it in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

On the other hand, this list in French football starts with Raymond Kopa. Later, the legendary Michel Platini won the trophy three times in a row from 1983 to 1985. Jean-Pierre Papin won in 1991 and Zidane won the World Cup in 1998. After a long break, Karim Benzema won the Ballon d'Or in 2022. And the latest addition is Dembele's name.

Argentina and France are now jointly at the top of the list of Ballon d'Or wins as a country. Next are Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo alone has won the trophy five times, keeping Portugal at the top of this list. In addition, Italy and Brazil have also won the Ballon d'Or five times each.

Thus, on the glittering stage of Paris, French football gained a new hero, and a new chapter was added to history.