Ousmane Dembele's ascendency from unfulfilled potential to unrivalled performer was recognised on Monday when he was crowned the Men's Ballon d'Or winner.
It was the culmination of a journey that has seen the French forward be a bit-part in several star-studded teams without being its standout. A World Cup winner with France, a collector of medals in Germany, Spain and at home. Always in the team photo, but with the focus always on other teammates.
That the Frenchman possessed the potential to be the world's best player was never a conversation. Dembele even conceded in his acceptance speech that the Ballon d'Or "has not really been an objective for me in my career". Talented, yes, that much was obvious from his early days at Rennes and Borussia Dortmund. Better than the rest though?
His former coach at Barcelona, Xavi, said that, if used properly, Dembele could be the best player in the world. Though no doubt meant as words of encouragement, there were undercurrents. A trope of Dembele's career is that he lacked the desire and discipline to make full use of his potential. At that point, in 2021, Xavi was probably right.
Those doubts were put to bed in 2024/25. It's easy to think of Paris Saint-Germain as the perfect, well-oiled machine it is now, given all that has been achieved, but that wasn't the feeling at the start of last season.
Kylian Mbappe, the club's record goalscorer, had just been sold to Real Madrid. The player the Parisians had put their faith in had deserted them, dismayed by the PSG project that promised so much but could never deliver the one piece of silverware most coveted – the European Cup.
Mbappe's departure marked the end of PSG's gilded project. The turn to youth can be misleading and exaggerated: PSG spent plenty of money signing the best young talent rather than rolling it straight off the production line. Dembele was on the books but peripheral, an afterthought, a star that faded before it had been given a chance to shine. Most usually do when they enter Mbappe's orbit, swallowed up by his gravitational force. With Mbappe in the team, Dembele was shunted to the right wing. He now has a central attacking role, a false nine able to roam and be more involved in the buildup.
The game that defined his new role was also the one that defined the new PSG era. Never has a European Cup final been so utterly one-sided as PSG's 5-0 dismantling of Inter Milan in last season's showpiece.
The press was oppressive, Inter choked into submission before they could get going. Leading the charge was Dembele. Every time Inter tried to take a goal kick the first sight Yann Sommer or his centre-backs saw was of Dembele poised on the 18-yard line waiting to be unleashed. Inter's defence were terrified to touch the ball lest they unleash the tiger. Hitting the ball long never seemed so attractive.
It's easy to forget Demeble wasn't even one of PSG's five goalscorers that night, but his contribution was just as telling. PSG had their new talisman. Potential had made way for potency.
Mbappe's departure was PSG and Dembele's big bang moment. A new universe was created, the cosmos concentrated on the collective, not the individual. PSG are champions of Europe, Dembele the world's best player. Mbappe won nothing of note at Real Madrid in his first season. He wasn't even a consideration for the Ballon d'Or.
Dembele's 2024/25 was, to use football parlance, a game of two halves. Only eight goals were scored before Christmas, 27 after. By comparison, Mohamed Salah's brace against Tottenham on December 22 were his 14th and 15th league goals of the season, making the Liverpool forward the first player to reach double digits in both goals and assists before Christmas. Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal had scored six (one in the Champions League, five in La Liga).
Dembele's 51 goal involvements were more than twice his previous best in a single campaign; his 35 goals were 21 more than he had managed before. Dembele helped PSG win a Ligue 1, Coupe de France and Champions League treble, before also reaching the final of the Club World Cup.
On Monday, Dembele saw off Salah, saw off Yamal, saw off the rest of his PSG teammates. He rewarded the faith shown in him by Luis Enrique, his PSG coach he described as a father figure.
More importantly, he stepped out of Mbappe's shadow.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
The specs
Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Power: 160hp
Torque: 385Nm
Price: Dh116,900
On sale: now
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Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
2019 Asian Cup final
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Aaron%20Horvath%20and%20Michael%20Jelenic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chris%20Pratt%2C%20Anya%20Taylor-Joy%2C%20Charlie%20Day%2C%20Jack%20Black%2C%20Seth%20Rogen%20and%20Keegan-Michael%20Key%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 0 Wolves 2 (Jimenez 3', Saiss 6)
Man of the Match Romain Saiss (Wolves)
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