Ballon d’Or 2026 sees Ousmane Dembélé criticised by PSG

The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony left a bitter taste for Paris SG supporters, as the club had just been crowned club of the year after its Champions League triumph, but the individual ranking of its stars sparked deep disappointment.

Collective performance and result in Ligue 1

While the Parisians brilliantly secured a 2‑0 win in Ligue 1 against Olympique Lyonnais, the bad news came from London: no PSG player managed to break into the worldwide top 5 of the Ballon d’Or. Supporters had hoped that the Ligue 1 victory would translate into individual recognition, but the voting result was disappointing.

Individual disappointments and criticisms

The final ranking nevertheless showed the depth of the squad, with no fewer than eight Paris SG players among the thirty nominees, testifying to the supremacy of the reigning European champion. This massive presence reinforced the idea of collective domination, even though individual honours were scarce.

Three Parisians finished in the Top 10, but none reached the Top 5: Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia rose to sixth place, just ahead of the title holder, Ousmane Dembélé, who fell to seventh position, while Fabian Ruiz closed the Top 10 at tenth place.

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The teammates fell further behind, with Achraf Hakimi in thirteenth place, Vitinha in fourteenth, Willian Pacho in twentieth, Nuno Mendes in twenty‑third and Marquinhos in twenty‑fifth place. These rankings illustrate the wide distribution of performances within the club.

“PSG’s communication may not have been very clear,” said Vincent Garcia, who highlighted a lack of transparency in the club’s lobbying. He compared the situation to that of Kylian Mbappé, former Paris SG striker, who ran an impeccable campaign by leveraging his World Cup year.

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“I think they should have rallied behind a single player, the title holder, namely Ousmane Dembélé,” asserted the editor-in-chief of France Football, believing the club spread its support instead of focusing on a flagship figure. According to him, this strategy weakened Paris SG’s impact in the Ballon d’Or voting.