Sports
Just like Thierry: The switch that helped Dembélé win the Ballon d’Or
Ousmane Dembélé knew the tears would come, inevitably. In the last few days, he thought long and hard about what would happen if his dream of winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or became reality.
He talked about it many times with his best friend, Moustapha Diatta, who sat next to his mother, Fatoumata, and his agent, Moussa Sissoko, at the ceremony on Monday night.
Diatta knew the tears would come for him as well, and they did. Dembélé on the stage; Diatta in the audience. In his acceptance speech, Dembélé mentioned his BFF and how they grew up inseparable in the same block of flats of the “la Plaine” council estate in Evreux, 100 kilometres west of Paris. Dembélé lived on the fifth floor; Diatta the first. At all hours the pair played football with now-Bayern Munich center back Dayot Upamecano — who lived across the road — on the little concrete square with benches as the goals, or against the wall. Winning the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League or Ballon d’Or was always the dream.
Dembélé has now won all three. At 28, he reached a new level last season, which saw him crowned as the best player in the world on Monday. His story of lifting the Ballon d’Or, becoming the sixth Frenchman to do so in history (after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema) is one of resilience and perseverance. Of never giving up.
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Dembélé was born a football genius with an innate talent, and capable of doing things at 16 years old that only a few players could ever do. He had everything: the ability to dribble with both feet, devastating pace, bravery, incredible skill on the ball and the confidence to go with it. But after exploding on to the scene in 2015 with Stade Rennais in Ligue 1 at 17, he lost his way after moves to Borussia Dortmund (€15 million) and then Barcelona (€105 million) in two years.
After six years of stagnation at Camp Nou, he had to find the right place to fulfill his potential and start his journey again toward the top. He needed the right club and manager to take him to the next level, where his talent belonged.
Enter Luis Enrique and Paris Saint-Germain in 2023. What the Spanish manager has done with Dembélé over the past 12 months is exceptional; he transformed a talented-but-inconsistent winger into a lethal No. 9 striker in the same way that legendary Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger changed the trajectory of Thierry Henry’s career with a similar positional shift.
When Luis Enrique repositioned Dembélé from right winger to center forward back in December 2024, he knew exactly what he was doing. The former Barcelona boss had seen enough at training to know that this player held the key to PSG’s season.
Rolland Courbis, one of France’s greatest coaches, who worked with a young Dembélé at Stade Rennais, was the first to play him centrally in 2015. Even back then, Courbis, a colorful character, considered his young prodigy to have all the qualities to be a great No. 9: intelligence, awareness, quick feet, pace. Luis Enrique saw the same. When Dembélé needed freedom to fit his fluidity with the structure of the Spaniard’s tactics, he got it. When he needed support and trust, he got it. When he needed a kick in the backside, he got that, too.
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Why ‘outstanding’ Ousmane Dembélé deserved to win the Ballon d’Or
Julien Laurens and Stewart Robson discuss why Ousmane Dembélé was a worthy winner of the Ballon d’Or.
Dembélé was dropped for the Arsenal game in the Champions League league phase in October 2024 after a disagreement with his manager. But he came back stronger. When Luis Enrique told him about moving to a new position, the Frenchman didn’t need to be convinced. He knew he was made for the role: to be both a No. 10 and a No. 9, scoring goals and creating others for his teammates, always moving to disrupt the opposition’s defensive organization, and triggering the PSG press and counter-press. From December to July, Dembélé did all of that and more.
By the end of the season, he notched 37 goals and 15 assists across all competitions, incredible stats that were partnered with an incredible work rate that inspired the whole PSG squad. He has led his team to the Quintuple, and with the Intercontinental Cup coming in December, they can make it a Sextuple, which would see PSG draw level with Pep Guardiola’s famous 2009 Barcelona team and Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich squad of 2020.
In every major game that Dembélé has played, excluding this summer’s Club World Cup final defeat against Chelsea, he has been decisive. In PSG’s 5-0 Champions League final win over Internazionale, his eyes, locked on goalkeeper Yann Sommer, became a viral moment that symbolized his determination and completed his transformation.
On Monday night, in the beautiful surroundings of the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, his eyes were fixed on another prize as the 28-year-old finally got his hands on the Ballon d’Or and joined the pantheon of great footballers, which is where he belongs.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Al Nassr clinched the Saudi Pro League title with a 4-1 win over Damac on Thursday, ending his long wait for domestic silverware.
A trademark free-kick and a close-range finish, both in the final half-hour, sealed the win Al Nassr needed on the last night of the season, with Al Hilal finishing just two points behind.
Ronaldo, 41, who was without a major club trophy since winning Serie A with Juventus in 2020, arrived in the kingdom to great acclaim in 2023, wept as he watched the final minutes from the bench.
He adds the Saudi championship to his English, Spanish and Italian titles and five Champions League medals.
Al Nassr took a 2-0 lead but were back to 2-1 before Ronaldo’s free-kick on 63 minutes evaded the goalkeeper and a forest of legs to find the far corner.
He struck again nine minutes from time, receiving a cut-back on the edge of the six-yard box and smashing high into the net.
Next up for the all-time leading men’s international goalscorer, with 143 goals, is a sixth crack at the World Cup after he was named in Portugal’s squad this week.
Desert trailblazer
Ronaldo opened the door to a series of big-money Saudi signings when he joined Al Nassr in January 2023 following an unhappy second spell at Manchester United.
Neymar and Karim Benzema were among those to follow after Ronaldo inked a two-and-a-half-year deal estimated at 200 million euros, extended for two years in June 2025.
The stated aim was to turn the Pro League into one of the world’s top five football competitions measured by the quality of players, stadium attendances, and commercial success. International interest has been muted, however.
In December 2024, Saudi Arabia was confirmed as host of the 2034 World Cup, a coup as it pushes to decouple its economy from oil and attract business and tourists, partly via the buzz of sports.
With a record 664 million Instagram followers, Ronaldo has been a highly visible ambassador as Saudi Arabia tries to turn the page on the ultra-conservative image that has defined it for decades.
The world’s biggest oil exporter and home of Islam has been accused of “sportswashing” — using sport to deflect human rights criticism — as it has invested in Formula 1, golf, boxing, and tennis alongside football.
Some of the more outlandish spending on economic diversification, including sprawling tourist developments and NEOM, a futuristic city in the desert, is being reined in.
This month, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said it was exiting the breakaway LIV Golf tour, after reportedly ploughing more than $5 billion into a venture that split the sport.
Expensive football signings have also waned with the stream of big-money transfers slowing to a trickle.
Tears and a protest
Ronaldo was the Pro League’s top scorer in his first two seasons, with his career tally now at 973 — tantalisingly close to the 1,000-goals milestone.
His Saudi stint has not always been smooth. In 2024, he was left in floods of tears when Al Nassr lost the King’s Cup final to Al Hilal on penalties, denying him his first Saudi title.
This season, he disappeared from Al Nassr’s line-up for three games in an apparent protest at Benzema´s transfer to rival team Al Hilal.
Al Hilal and Al Nassr were among the stable of Saudi teams owned by the Public Investment Fund, the country’s $900 billion sovereign wealth fund.
Before Thursday, Ronaldo’s only silverware with Al Nassr was the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup. He was also disappointed on Saturday, when Al Nassr lost to Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League Two final.
Sports
Knicks crush Cavaliers in Game 2, take commanding 2-0 lead in series behind Josh Hart’s career night
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The New York Knicks didn’t need a historic comeback to take Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
Instead, it was a dominant victory in regulation, 109-93, as the Knicks take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series to Cleveland this weekend.
There was no hangover for the Cavaliers to begin the game, as they owned a 27-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the Knicks found their way into the lead by halftime.
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Josh Hart of the New York Knicks dribbles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the third quarter in Game Two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 21, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
It was the third quarter where New York started to pull away, getting the lead up to 18 points as the Madison Square Garden crowd went ballistic. The Knicks went on an 18-0 run at one point as well, which was reminiscent of Game 1’s fourth-quarter comeback.
However, Cleveland wasn’t letting off the gas despite the deficit. The Cavaliers cut the 18-point lead in half with around 8:30 left in the fourth quarter, as New York struggled to buy a basket.
KNICKS STORM BACK TO SHOCK CAVS IN GAME 1 AS JAMES HARDEN’S DEFENSIVE PLAY COMES UNDER SCRUTINY
But once OG Anunoby knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing, things were back to normal for the Knicks crowd.
Mikal Bridges, who had a stellar night on both ends of the floor, hit a wide-open three with 6:12 remaining in the fourth that got the lead back up to 13 for the Knicks, and they would coast from there.
Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks celebrates after making a basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the third quarter in Game Two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 21, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Jalen Brunson, the team’s All-Star point guard, was phenomenal in the comeback on Tuesday night, dropping 38 points. But Cleveland made their game plan known right away in this matchup, putting pressure on him to the point where he’d be giving up the rock in double-teams.
As a result, the Cavaliers were fine with Josh Hart taking shots instead. While the plan seemed to work in the first half a bit, Hart found his groove in the second and set a new career high with a team-high 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. He also got on the board with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Brunson tallied 19 points and dished out a playoff career-high 14 assists for New York. And once again, Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, playing efficiently for Mike Brown’s Knicks.
With the lead back up to 18 for the Knicks, all starters were pulled with under two minutes to play, as the crowd gave their squad a standing ovation for a job well done.
The Knicks shot 52% from the field and only saw 14 foul shots all game long, but they held the Cavaliers to just 39% shooting as a team. Cleveland also failed to capitalize on key free throws late in the game, as they were in the bonus with over nine minutes to play. As a team, they shot just 69% (22-of-32) from the charity stripe.
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks dribbles against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the third quarter in Game Two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 21, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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Evan Mobley also had 14 points in the first half, but he curiously didn’t take a single shot in the second half for Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell matched Hart’s 26 points, though he shot 8-of-18. James Harden also went 6-of-15 for 18 points.
With the win, the Knicks have now won nine straight playoff games.
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Austin Theory and Logan Paul have one of their biggest tests as world tag team champions this weekend as they defend their titles against The Street Profits at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Theory and Paul are members of The Vision – the top faction on “Monday Night Raw” featuring the future of the WWE. Bron Breakker may be the in-ring leader of the group as he made a thunderous return to the roster at WrestleMania 42 and then defeated Seth Rollins at Backlash. Theory and Paul are the ones with the gold while Paul Heyman is the mouthpiece for the next generation of superstars.
With the tag team title around his waist, Paul has now held gold twice in WWE since making his debut with the company in 2021. Paul has the tools that any pro wrestler dreams of – the athletic prowess in the ring coupled with immense heat from the crowd along with his skills on the mic.
Theory told Fox News Digital that Paul’s rise in the WWE has made it tougher for any outsider to come in and have success, suggesting the YouTube sensation has set the bar enormously high.
Austin Theory and Logan Paul speak during WWE Backlash at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla., on May 9, 2026. (Michael Owens/WWE)
LOGAN PAUL’S JAW-DROPPING SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT WOW FANS AT WWE MONEY IN THE BANK
“I say with Logan Paul, with his athletic ability and his skills in wrestling and how he’s been able to just develop it so quick,” he said. “It’s impressive to me – somebody who’s wanted to be in WWE since I was eight, started training at 18, signed with the WWE at 22 and took that longer path. But I have to give Logan his respect. This is a dude, as a young kid, started with YouTube and streaming and pretty much – dude created YouTube. He put it on the map, his whole streaming thing.
“Kind of both of us building our dreams in different ways and kind of meeting in the middle. I just think he kinda just messed it up for everybody on the outside that wants to come into WWE and thinks like, ‘Oh wow, this is easy. Like, I can pick up a mic and talk trash and I can do these cool moves off the ropes like Logan Paul,’ but you can’t. There’s an art to it. Logan Paul is exceptional on the mic. In the ring, he does things even highflyers we have in WWE couldn’t even do. He’s just a phenomenal athlete. When it comes to me and Logan Paul, we’re freaks of nature. That’s why I say we’re gonna motivate everybody this Saturday at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Fort Wayne.”
The Vision, which also includes an injured Bronson Reed, is under the tutelage of Heyman, who has been a “wiseman” and an “advocate” for many young talents in WWE.
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Theory had the utmost confidence that Heyman was sending him and his stablemates in the right direction.
World Tag Team Champion Austin Theory enters the arena during Monday Night RAW at Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, N.C., on May 18, 2026. (Michael Owens/WWE)
“With Paul Heyman, you know, this history with him having Brock Lesnar, having Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Seth Rollins – you know, before he realized he was a loser,” he said. “Paul Heyman, man, he’s the ‘wiseman.’ I think anything that comes out of his mouth is gold and especially kind of molding The Vision and sending us in the right direction. I couldn’t ask for more. It’s just sitting under the knowledge tree of history. He’s from back in the 80s to present day. The dude’s done it all. I’m very grateful for the wiseman, Paul Heyman.”
Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins will challenge for the tag titles. The two returned to “Monday Night Raw” after WrestleMania 42 after a prolonged absence.
Theory gave them credit where credit is due. They are three-time WWE tag champions and won the tag titles at NXT and Evolve. However, Theory made clear that Ford and Dawkins are running into “the greatest tag team champions of the world.”
“Well, the Street Profits. They’ve been in the WWE a very long time,” he said. “Feels like too long, like 60 years. I do realize every time I have a title, they’re around, which makes sense because they’re irrelevant and I’m relevant. But not to push them too low down, they’re very athletic, they have a great resume. But it’s just that comparison to Austin Theory and Logan Paul – The Vision. The greatest tag team champions of the world, of the universe. You can’t really compare.
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World Tag Team Champions Austin Theory and Logan Paul stand alongside Bron Breakker and Paul Heyman during Monday Night RAW at Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, N.C., on May 18, 2026. (Michael Owens/WWE)
“Unfortunately, yes, I said unfortunately, the show is in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I look at this match as more of a big motivational moment for those people because they’re gonna see two guys that don’t look like anybody from Fort Wayne. We look like freaking superheroes. We’re really there to inspire everybody and then after the match, get the hell out of there.”
Saturday Night’s Main Event will take place Saturday in Fort Wayne, Indiana, much to Theory’s chagrin. And, it’s a loaded card.
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Aside from the tag team title match, read below for how the rest of the card looks.
- Paige and Brie Bella (c) vs. Nia Jax and Lash Legend for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
- Becky Lynch vs. Sol Ruca.
- Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs. Jade Cargill, Michin and B-Fab.
- Penta (c) vs. Ethan Page for the Intercontinental Championship.
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