Ousmane Dembélé, the 28-year-old forward for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team, achieved something great this Monday evening by winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or. On this occasion, his mother, Fatima Dembélé, answered some questions for the newspaper Le Parisien.
“The passion for football has always been his obsession.”
“Since he was very young, football was all he thought about. Ousmane didn’t like school; he attended regular classes, but what he loved above all was playing. He was always with his ball; sometimes I would send him to the supermarket, we’d take the shopping cart, and he would always be with his ball. I’m not surprised that he succeeded because he always had that drive, that passion for football; it was always his obsession. He always had that in his heart.”
On his signing with PSG:
“Paris was a second dream for him. One day, he thought he would come back to show his talent in Paris. It was one of his dreams, and when he won the Champions League, I thought, ‘That’s only natural, since he always had that ambition.’”
“Ousmane does the same for his mother.”
“Has he changed the lives of the whole family?”
“If I have a nice car today, it’s thanks to him. If we can help people who are in need, it’s also thanks to him. (…) I worked hard to pay for his school and his football; I always spent my money without thinking about myself, and today, Ousmane does the same for his mother.”
It is understandable that she feels immense pride and happiness seeing her son win this prestigious trophy, which came through hard work, in addition to his talent, of course. This potential has always been obvious, although the forward has experienced some difficult periods, particularly due to injuries. In the face of criticism and doubts, Dembélé persevered and managed to reach a new level last season.
Not surprisingly, this is largely due to his unwavering passion. It’s rare for a player to reach the professional level without being somewhat “obsessed” with football from a young age. His mother helped him pursue his dreams when necessary, and the forward has never forgotten that. In fact, he spoke about his mother with great emotion during his speech.
The French international seems to have a good support network around him, and he embodies admirable values of humility and generosity. That’s great; we love to see players reach the top of their game without losing their perspective.
