PSG's Ousmane Dembele wins the Ballon d'Or; Barcelona's Bonmati retains women's award
Paris (AP): Ousmane Dembele won the Ballon d'Or for leading Paris Saint-Germain to its first Champions League title and Aitana Bonmatí received the women's award for a third successive year.
Dembele succeeded Manchester City midfielder Rodri to become the sixth Frenchman to win it after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema.
Bonmatí won ahead of her Spain teammate Mariona Caldentey. She's only the third player in the award's history to win three in a row after Platini (1983–85) and Lionel Messi (2009-12).
The award capped a remarkable turn of fortune for Dembele, who at one point last season was snubbed by PSG coach Luis Enrique for disciplinary reasons. But once repositioned as a No. 9, he became a scoring machine and was inspirational in PSG's historic Champions League campaign. The French club also completed a quadruple last season.
Dembele was praised after the Champions League final for the way he contributed to PSG's pressing and his ability to defend during the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan. He delivered 35 goals and 16 assists in 53 official matches last season, and was involved in 14 goals (8 goals, 6 assists) in the Champions League in 15 appearances.
Dembele received the Ballon d'Or from former winner Ronaldinho and teared up during his acceptance speech in which he asked his mother to join him on the stage.
“It's incredible to win a trophy like this,” he said in French. “I worked for the team to help win PSG's first Champions League (...) To then be rewarded with an individual trophy like the Ballon d'Or is truly exceptional.”
Dembele won ahead of teenage star Lamine Yamal. The forward, who turned 18 in July, helped Barcelona win La Liga and the Copa del Rey last season and reach the Champions League semifinals. Yamal was given the Kopa award for the best under-21 player for the second straight year.
“I need to keep on working to win other awards in the future,” Yamal said through a translator.
Dembele was injured and able to attend the ceremony in Paris while his team lost at Marseille 1-0 in the French league. He was one of nine PSG players nominated for the men's award, including goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, forward Desire Doue, who scored twice in the Champions League final, and winger Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia.
Although Bonmati lost to England in a penalty shootout in the Women's European Championship final last summer, she was named the best player of the tournament, which she began just days after being hospitalized by viral meningitis.
Bonmatí's spot kick in the shootout was one of two saved by England's Hannah Hampton, who was voted the best women's goalkeeper.
“Third time in a row here and I still can't believe it,” Bonmatí said “I owe Barcelona everything, this is the club of my life.”
She won a domestic treble with Barcelona and also reached the Champions League final.
Barcelona has won the last five women's awards but it was expected an Englishwoman would win for the first time. England won the Euros and Arsenal took the Women's Champions League. But with five England players among the women's top 10 nominees, the highest placed was Alessia Russo at third.
Other trophies
Barcelona forward Vicky Lopez won the women's Kopa trophy and Sarina Wiegman, who led England to European victory, took the Johan Cruyff award for best women's coach. On a great night for PSG, Luis Enrique won in the men's category.
PSG was voted the best men's club and Donnarumma received the Lev Yashin award for best goalkeeper. Donnarumma, whose shot-stopping in the knockout stages proved crucial to PSG's success, left for Manchester City during the offseason. Hampton was crowned the best women's goalkeeper.
The men's and women's Gerd Müller trophies for the top scorers went to Barcelona's Ewa Pajor and Viktor Gyokeres, who joined Arsenal this summer from Sporting Portugal after a prolific season.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
