Ousmane Dembele rounds off incredible 2025 by being named 'Best Male Player' at Globe Soccer Awards as Lamine Yamal also picks up prize

Dembele was awarded the prize of the world’s best at the latest edition of the Globe Soccer Awards gala in the UAE, which has been running since 2010 and boasted a range of awards across both the men’s and women’s game.

PSG star man Dembele was named Best Male Player at the ceremony to complete a clean sweep of awards for 2025, including the Ballon d’Or in emphatic fashion and the FIFA Best men’s player of the year.

The 28-year-old realised the true potential he was always known to have in 2024/25, scoring 35 times in all competitions and playing an instrumental role as PSG were crowned champions of Europe for the first time in the club’s history, sweeping aside a trio of Premier League opponents in the knockout stages before trouncing Inter Milan 5-0 in one of the most one-sided Champions League finals in history.

While Dembele’s 2025/26 season so far has been stop-start due to injuries, his performances in the first half of the year have seen the former Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund prodigy crowned the world’s best.

Ballon d’Or runner-up Lamine Yamal may have missed out on the top prize to Dembele once again at the Globe Soccer Awards, but the 18-year-old Barca star picked up two awards on the night as his stature in the game continues to grow.

Yamal was named ‘Best Forward’ at the ceremony in Dubai and was also presented with the Diego Armando Maradona Award for the player with the greatest skill and talent on the ball, an award in the image of the late, great Maradona himself.

The teenager was included in a short-list for the Best Male Player prize alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Raphinha and Vitinha, ultimately losing out to Dembele. 

Yamal was also nominated for FIFA Best men’s player earlier this month alongside Mbappe and Dembele, with the latter winning the award.

Dembele said at the FIFA Best Awards after picking up the prize: "I want to thank my team-mates" the 28-year-old said with the award in hand. "Hard work pays off, it's been a fantastic year for me, both individually and collectively."

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The Globe Soccer Awards saw a range of other prizes awarded. These included: Best Female Player (won by Aitana Bonmati), Best Male Club (PSG), Best Female Club (Barcelona) and Best Coach (Luis Enrique).

PSG were the greatest winners of the night, as the Parisians saw Vitinha named Best Midfielder and Desire Doue crowned Emerging Player, meanwhile Luis Campos and Nasser Al-Khelaifi were named Best Sporting Director and Best Sports President respectively.

Amongst 19 awards overall, other stand-outs included Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo being named Best Middle Eastern Player and Nations League winners Portugal earning the prize of Best National Team, while Paul Pogba won Best Sports Comeback.

This latest achievement for Dembele crowns an unforgettable 2025 for the PSG star, who has seen his immense improvement on the pitch recognised and rewarded by those across the game after he inspired the Ligue 1 champions to European glory.

Dembele will hope to regain his match sharpness soon, having made just six starts in any competition this season amidst hamstring and calf injuries. The France international has unfortunately been one of those affected by severe fixture congestion for PSG in 2025, unlikely to have been aided by their Club World Cup exploits over the summer.

Luis Enrique will have managed his minutes closely as he hopes to have his star man back in action for the spring run-in, where the Parisians will look to mount a defence of their Champions League crown and take back top spot from Lens in Ligue 1.