Ousmane Dembele was awarded the Ballon d’Or on Tuesday evening

Sunderland have delivered a message to Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele following his success at last night’s annual ceremony.

The Paris Saint-Germain attacker fended off competition from the likes of Liverpool talisman Mo Salah and Barcelona pair Raphinha and Lamine Yamal to scoop the prize for the first time in his career.

Speaking on the evening Dembele said: "What I have just experienced is exceptional, I have no words for it, what happened with PSG. I feel a bit of stress, it's not easy to win this trophy, and to have it presented to me by Ronaldinho, a legend of football, is exceptional.

"I want to thank PSG who came to get me in 2023. It's an incredible family. The president Nasser [Al-Khelaifi] is like a father to me. I also want to thank all the staff and the coach, who have been exceptional with me - he too is like a father - and all my teammates. We have practically won everything together. You supported me in the good and the difficult times. This individual trophy is one the team has won collectively."

And in an Instagram post shortly after the news of Dembele’s triumph was revealed, Sunderand’s official account shared a couple of photos of the 28-year-old holding his historic trophy alongside Black Cats owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.

The caption read: “Congratulations on winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or, @o.dembele7!We hope you’ve enjoyed watching the Lads this season, and will see you back at the Stadium of Light soon!”

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What is Ousmane Dembele’s connection to Sunderland?

Dembele’s link to Sunderland might be a slightly eyebrow-raising one, but is largely based around his relationship with owner Louis-Dreyfus. The pair are the same age, and are understood to be close friends. They have previously been photographed on holiday together.

Back in March 2023, Dembele was spotted attending a match at the Stadium of Light between the Black Cats and Sheffield United, and has previously posted videos on social media detailing a Football Manager save in which he had taken control of the Premier League new boys.

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In an interview with Le Parisien last year the PSG forward also made the point that he regularly watches Sunderland in his spare time. He said: “I watch practically all the championships: France, Spain, Italy, England, Germany.

“Even the English D2, especially Sunderland, because I know the owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. There are days I watch the English championship at 1pm, and at 9pm I switch to Spain.”

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