Ousmane Dembele, Winchester City and the Ballon d'Or

Published7 hours ago

You are probably wondering where on earth this is going.

But, these three entities are in fact intertwined by a virtual fairytale that has become quite a real relationship between one of the world's biggest football stars and a humble non-league club in Hampshire.

The thread that stitches this story together is the popular computer game Football Manager, in which Ousmane Dembele digitally took Winchester City on a journey right to the top of the English game while representing France at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

In a video posted by the France national team, external on social media during the tournament, Dembele is seen sat on a plane with France team-mate Antoine Griezmann as they joke about bringing the World Cup to Winchester.

"We had a bit of back and forth with him at the time, but obviously since then it all went quiet," Winchester City's manager Craig Davis told BBC Radio Solent.

But Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London reignited the Paris St-Germain superstar's love affair with the eighth-tier Citizens.

Dembele, 29, came seventh in the men's award this year, which was won by Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane, 12 months on from winning the 2025 Ballon d'Or himself after leading PSG to a Champions League, Ligue 1 and Coupe de France treble.

"One of our media team had a ticket to be on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony," Davis explained.

"He took a Winchester shirt with him and posted a photo of it on social media with Ousmane Dembele in the background.

"Dembele actually replied to it, external with some emojis and it's kind of blown up a bit since then. It's a bit of a tenuous link but we're going to claim it anyway because it's a good link!"

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Winchester City play their football in the Isthmian South Central Division, and currently sit third having played 14 matches.

The Citizens have won five of their past six league games and undoubtedly have the ambition of bouncing straight back up to the Southern League Premier Division One South.

Asked whether Dembele could be invited to Winchester in future, or even whether he could turn out for the club one day, Davis said they would be open to the idea.

"This has certainly reignited the fire. We'll try our best to get some more response out of him. You never know do you.

"But, I don't think a seven-day notice of approach is going to do the job to try and get him to sign for us!"

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