Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele was on Monday included in Paris Saint-Germain's squad to face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League after a six-week injury layoff.

Jean-Philippe Mateta was rewarded for his excellent form with Crystal Palace by being called up to the France squad named Thursday for World Cup qualifying matches against Azerbaijan and Iceland this month.

Ousmane Dembele has been crowned the winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or after an outstanding 2024-25 season with Paris Saint-Germain, a campaign highlighted by lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy.

The forward became the first Frenchman since Karim Benzema in 2022 to lift the prize after helping PSG claim their maiden Champions League crown last season.

 Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain suffered a 1-0 defeat at Olympique de Marseille in Monday's rearranged 'Le Classique', with Nayef Aguerd’s early header proving decisive in his side's first home league win over their bitter rivals since 2011.

Barcelona and Spain star Aitana Bonmati won the Women's Ballon d'Or at an awards ceremony in Paris on Monday, the third consecutive year she has taken the prize.

France forward Ousmane Dembele won the men's Ballon d'Or at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, the most prestigious individual award in football rewarding his starring role in the Paris Saint-Germain side that won the Champions League last season.

Paris Saint-Germain players are set to miss the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday (September 22) because of a controversial decision made by Ligue 1 officials. The Parisians' hugely successful past year is set to be celebrated in Paris when the awards showpiece takes place in the French capital.

The cream of world football will gather at the Theatre du Chatelet in central Paris on Monday to discover who will be the latest winners of an award dominated for so long by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday criticised the "serious and avoidable" injuries suffered by Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue while on international duty with the France national team.

PSG forward Ousmane Dembele faces about six weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, while winger Desire Doue will be out of action for around four weeks due to a calf problem, the European champions said.

Fabian Ruiz scored the only goal of the game and Ousmane Dembele missed a penalty as a rusty Paris Saint-Germain beat Angers 1-0 on Friday to make it two wins out of two at the start of the Ligue 1 season.

The stage is set for a clash of ambition and ascendance as Chelsea take on reigning European champions PSG in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 at The MetLife Stadium in New York tonight (1:00 am Bangladesh time).

Luis Enrique previously told reporters that he believed Dembele is deserving of the Ballon d'Or, and on Wednesday said there was no doubt that the Frenchman had once again shown himself worthy of soccer's top individual honour.

Fabian Ruiz scored twice as European champions Paris Saint-Germain turned on the style in their reunion with Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday, thrashing Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup to set up a final showdown with Chelsea.

Paris Saint-Germain reached the Club World Cup semi-finals as Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele goals earned the nine-man European champions a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in a gripping battle on Saturday.

Didier Deschamps expects the Paris St Germain players to be ready after their Champions League success when France take on Spain in the Nations League semifinals, with the manager also backing Ousmane Dembele for the Ballon d'Or.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele, who suffered a hamstring injury last week, has been passed fit to play in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal, coach Luis Enrique said on Tuesday.

David Raya insists Arsenal can still reach the Champions League final despite suffering a 1-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

Paris St Germain took a big step towards reaching the Champions League final as Ousmane Dembele's early goal sealed a 1-0 win at Arsenal in a tense first leg of the semi-final on Tuesday.