Mbappé and Messi Laud Dembélé After Ballon d'Or Triumph

Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi congratulated their former club teammate Ousmane Dembélé after he won the Ballon d'Or award on Monday.

Dembélé beat Barcelona's Lamine Yamal to lift the prestigious individual trophy after an impressive season with Paris Saint-Germain.

The France forward scored 35 goals and provided 14 assists in 53 games to help PSG win their first Champions League as well as winning the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France.

Mbappé, who left PSG in the summer of 2024 after seven years at the club to join Real Madrid, was among the first to congratulate his France teammate.

"Ousmane Dembélé. It's so exciting, my brother! You deserve it 1000 times," Mbappé wrote on his Instagram minutes after Dembélé was handed the award.

Mbappé, 26, who has yet to win a Ballon d'Or, finished seventh in this year's edition.

Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, Messi, was also thrilled to see Dembélé get the recognition he deserves.

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Messi spent four seasons with Dembélé at Barcelona before the Argentinian star moved to PSG in 2021.

The Inter Miami captain left a comment in Spanish on Dembélé's Instagram and wrote: "Great Ous!!! Congratulations I'm so happy for you. You deserve it."

Dembélé, who moved to PSG in 2023 from Barcelona in the same transfer window that saw Messi leave the French giants to join Inter Miami, mentioned his former Barça teammate during his acceptance speech.

"I learned so much there [at Barcelona], playing alongside players like Messi and [Andres] Iniesta," he said on Monday.

"It was a great learning experience. I am so happy, when I see the list of legends who have won this award."