Ousmane Dembélé addresses negative aspect of life as a Ballon d’Or winner

Ousmane Dembélé addresses negative aspect of life as a Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé (29) is one of the favourites to retain his Ballon d’Or trophy. The France international won the award last year after helping Paris Saint-Germain to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. He was the standout player in that glittering European campaign, and he was also prominent as PSG won it again back in May. As a result, he is a contender to retain the award later this month, although he faces more stiff competition this time around. The former Stade Rennais winger has recently made headlines for the wrong reasons. His performances for the France national team during the international break have been the subject of some intense crticism, especially in France. Zinédine Zidane has been quick to defend the forward, who has captained Les Bleus in the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappé. Speaking to L’Équipe , Dembélé says that he believes being the holder of the Ballon d’Or gives rise to closer scrutinty. “There will always be criticism in football, even more so when you’ve won the Ballon d’Or, but it’s funny isn’t it. Everything you do, every action… you’re scrutinised. It doesn’t bother me,” he told the publication earlier this month. “Since I won the Ballon d’Or, there is more criticism. The trophy doesn’t immunise you (from criticism) ; quite the contrary. You have to be good in every match, otherwise they say ‘Oh, look!’,” added Dembélé. GFFN | Luke Entwistle