Dembélé applauds the Ballon d’Or handover in London

Having won the Ballon d’Or in 2025, Ousmane Dembélé has passed the baton. Present in London on Monday evening for the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, the PSG player finished in seventh place, just behind his teammate Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia, and sat almost next to Harry Kane.

A seventh place behind Kvaratskhelia

Dembélé's position, seventh in the ranking, places him immediately behind Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia, also of PSG. This proximity at the top highlights the club's collective performance during the voting campaign.

Sitting almost next to Harry Kane, Dembélé was able to briefly congratulate him as soon as the winner was announced. The moment lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough to mark a symbolic transition between the award's past and present.

The embrace that caught observers' attention

Harry Kane stood up, greeted the players around him before going up on stage to receive the trophy. Kylian Mbappé, for his part, appeared slightly stunned by the scene.

Ballon d’Or 2026: Ousmane Dembélé at the heart of a tribute to Harry Kane

Dembélé then stood up and gave a warm embrace to the Bayern Munich forward, highlighting the respect between the two strikers. The image quickly circulated among observers, who described it as striking.

The columnist Benoît Trémoulinas, for L’Équipe, explained why he had highlighted this image. He recalled that Dembélé, who recently announced his return to Girondins de Bordeaux, had appreciated this passing gesture.

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According to Trémoulinas, the embrace conveyed a great deal of respect and left a strong impression. It is already known that the gap between Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé was less than forty‑one points, before the official results were published on Saturday.