Ousmane Dembele, Winchester City and the Ballon d'Or

PSG star Dembele's long-running Football Manager save with non-league Winchester City resurfaced when he responded to a shirt photo at Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London.

Ousmane Dembele's connection to eighth-tier Winchester City stems from a Football Manager save he played during France's 2018 World Cup campaign in Russia, where he digitally took the Hampshire club to the top of English football. The story went quiet for years until Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London, when one of Winchester City's media team brought a club shirt to the red carpet and posted a photo with Dembele in the background. Dembele responded with emojis, reigniting interest in the quirky relationship.

Dembele finished seventh in this year's Ballon d'Or voting, won by Harry Kane. Winchester City manager Craig Davis said the club would be open to inviting Dembele to visit or even play for them in future, though he joked that a seven-day notice wouldn't be enough to get him to sign. The Citizens currently sit third in the Isthmian South Central Division and are chasing promotion back to the Southern League Premier Division One South.