By virtue of being the latest Ballon d’Or winner, Ousmane Dembélé will probably hog the attention even to the level of his fellow superstar France captain, Kylian Mbappé, who undoubtedly has a bigger profile, at the World Cup.Last September, the 29-year-old Dembélé won the prestigious Ballon d’Or off the back of a spectacular, career-defining 2024-25 campaign, where he led Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to a historic treble, including their first-ever UEFA Champions League title.Then only 21, Dembélé played a minimal role when France became world champions in Russia in 2018, while the then 19-year-old Mbappé played made a telling contribution, playing seven matches and scoring four times, including one in the final. At the 2018 global showpiece in Russia, Dembélé played just four of France’s seven matches, ending up as an unused substitute in the final, which Les Bleus won 4-2 against Croatia.The 29-year-old Dembélé will be hell-bent on proving why he won last year’s world player award as France attempting to be only the third country to reach three successive World Cup finals after West Germany (1982, 1986, and 1990) and Brazil (1994, 1998, and 2002).The forwardhugely skilled foreard with a deadly finish has just inspired his PSG to another Champions League final, where they face English newly-crowned English Premiership champions Arsenal in Budapest on Saturday. His form has not dropped a bit since last season, albeit injuries have troubled him here and there this campaign.Born in Vernon in northern part France to a Mauritanian-Senegalese mother and Malian father, both immigrants, Dembélé started his professional career at Rennes , where he was named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year in the 2015-16 season, his only campaign there.In 2016, he joined German club Borussia Dortmund, where he would win the DFB-Pokal in his debut campaign.Regarded as one of the most promising young talents in world football, Dembélé joined Barcelona in 2017 for an initial fee of €105m, making him at the time the joint-second most expensive player in history alongside Paul Pogba and behind Neymar.Though Dembélé did not fully reach his potential at Barça, he won multiple domestic honours including three La Liga, two Copa del Rey and two Supercopa de España titles.Dembélé returned to France in 2023, signing with PSG for €50.4m. In the 2024-25 season, he experienced a resurgence in his career, contributing 33 goals and 15 assists in 49 appearances as PSG won their treble.Dembélé’s France are pitted against Senegal, Norway and Iraq in Group I of the World Cup.Age: 29Club: Paris St GermainPrevious clubs: Rennes, Borussia Dortmund, BarcelonaPrevious World Cups: 2018 (champions), 2022 (runners-up)International caps (goals): 58 (7)Club honours (wins only): Dortmund: DFB-Pokal (1) 2016-17. Barcelona: La Liga (3) 2017-18, 2018-19, 2022-23; Copa del Rey (2) 2017-18, 2020-21; Supercopa de España (2) 2018, 2023. PSG: Ligue 1 (3) 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26; Coupe de France (2) 2023-24 and 2024-25; Trophée des Champions (3) 2023, 2024 and 2025; UEFA Champions League (1) 2024-25; UEFA Super Cup (1) 2025; FIFA Intercontinental Cup (1) 2025International honours: FIFA World Cup winner (2018), runner-up (2022); UEFA Nations League third place (2024–25)