Dembélé became the sixth Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or on Monday as he beat the likes of Lamine Yamal and Mohamed Salah to the prestigious award. The 28-year-old was the favourite for the award after so much success with Paris Saint-Germain and lifted it on home soil on Monday night.
After he was announced as the winner, former PSG teammate Messi sent a short message of congratulations.
"Grande Ous !!! Congratulations I’m so happy for you. You deserve it."
Mbappe was also over the moon for his former teammate and French compatriot, as he wrote on his Instagram story:
"Ousmane Dembele. It's the emotions, my brother. You deserve it a thousand times over."
Dembele is the first French player to win the prestigious award since Karim Benzema in 2023 and all eyes will be on him for the rest of the season as he tries to live up to expectations of such a famous award.
He will also hope to regain full fitness in time for his club's next domestic game on Saturday against Auxerre as PSG chase down the league title once again.