Thanks to his achievement of helping Paris Saint-Germain win the treble last season, the 28-year-old Dembélé unequivocally claimed the Ballon d'Or. However, in world football, winning the treble and lifting the Ballon d'Or have often not been linked—among the previous 10 treble-winning teams, only Messi had won the Ballon d'Or.
Treble-winning teams and the Ballon d'Or winner of the same year:
1967: Celtic (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Flórián Albert (Ferencváros)
- 1972: Ajax (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich)
- 1988: PSV Eindhoven (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
- 1999: Manchester United (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Rivaldo (Barcelona)
- 2009: Barcelona (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Lionel Messi
- 2010: Inter Milan (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
- 2013: Bayern Munich (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
- 2015: Barcelona (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Lionel Messi
- 2020: Bayern Munich (treble winners), Ballon d'Or cancelled
- 2023: Manchester City (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
- 2025: Paris Saint-Germain (treble winners), Ballon d'Or winner: Ousmane Dembélé
- Dembélé becomes the second player in history after Messi to win the Ballon d'Or in the same year as winning the treble. In 2010 and 2013, treble-winning members Wesley Sneijder and Franck Ribéry missing out on the Ballon d'Or both caused huge controversies. The cancellation of the 2020 Ballon d'Or remains an eternal regret for Robert Lewandowski, who was the biggest favorite that year.
