Barcelona Slammed for Ballon d’Or Post After Ousmane Dembele Win

Barcelona have been slammed for their 'shameless' post about Ousmane Dembele following his Ballon d'Or success.

Dembele won the first Ballon d'Or of his career in Monday's ceremony in Paris.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar pipped Barcelona's Lamine Yamal to the coveted individual prize.

The Catalan giants were well represented at the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony, with their delegation consisting of president Joan Laporta, the aforementioned Yamal, Raphinha, not to mention club legends Andres Iniesta and Ronaldinho, who presented the main award.

After Ronaldinho announced the Frenchman as the Ballon d'Or winner, Barca took to social media to congratulate their former player and Aitana Bonmati, who was crowned the best women's player in the world.

They posted a video of Dembele and Bonmati posing for photos on the red carpet, accompanied with the caption: "Ballon d'Or Winners."

Aitana Bonmati and Ousmane Dembele pose for photos at the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony. Image: Getty

But fans on social media criticised Barca's post and branded it 'shameless', accusing them of trying to claim Dembele considering his spell at the club.

One X user wrote: "He’s not your player. Don’t post him."

A second said: "I only see one PSG player here. Why are you posting our players. Post yours."

A third added: "A very shameless club , but like my friend said, work hard for yourself and forget that ex who treated you badly."

Another commented: "You’re embarrassing for posting Dembele."

Referring to Real Madrid, a fifth argued: "Class, unlike those sore losers."

Ousmane Dembele spent six seasons at Barcelona before signing for Paris Saint-Germain. Image: Getty

Dembele signed for Barca from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017 for a monstrous £135 million.

He spent six seasons at the Camp Nou and won three La Liga titles.

But Dembele largely failed to impress in Spain and was blighted with a series of injuries, though the 28-year-old came to life when he joined PSG in the summer of 2023.

He scored an impressive 35 goals in 53 games across all competitions last season, helping his side win four trophies - including the Champions League.