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Gianluigi Donnarumma said he had wanted to remain at European champions Paris St Germain before his transfer to Manchester City during the close season but the Italy goalkeeper has now turned the page.The 26-year-old, who joined PSG from AC Milan in 2021, was part of the side that claimed the French club’s first Champions League title last season and was asked at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony on Monday if he had wanted to stay in Paris."Yes, when you go through so many positive things, when you spend a lot of time with great friends, it is difficult,” Donnarumma told reporters after being awarded the Yashin trophy for best goalkeeper of the season.Donnarumma, who also won Ligue 1 and the French Cup last season, added that he was now settled at City where he has signed a five-year contract, with British media reporting that they paid 30mn pounds for the keeper."But the truth is that I have found an extraordinary club (Manchester City), with extraordinary players, and they welcome me like a big family and that is important for me," he said. "Change is difficult but I found (at City) really extraordinary supporters, extraordinary players, the staff, the coach, the sporting director, the president."Donnarumma is now fully focused on the task at hand with his new club, hoping more trophies will come. "I’m focused on my new adventure," he said. "I am pleased with my performances over the last year and the trophies I have won, but I know I can still improve and that’s a major reason why I chose to move to Manchester City. I am now fully focused on working with (City manager) Pep Guardiola and his staff to develop my game even further and help my new team to even more success."

Paris St Germain's France international Ousmane Dembele said winning the Ballon d’Or was never a personal goal but admitted he could not hold back tears when he spoke about his family after being named the world’s best player on Monday.The forward became the first Frenchman since Karim Benzema in 2022 to lift the prize after helping PSG claim their maiden Champions League crown last season. "I didn’t want to cry, but as soon as I started talking about my family, about the people who have been there for me, it came up and I couldn’t hold it back,” Dembele said after beating Barcelona and Spain forward Lamine Yamal to the prize.The 28-year-old added that while he never set out to target individual honours, the award was a special moment. "It was never a personal objective. On an individual level, having a trophy like this is magnificent. But when it happens, of course, you’re happy, you’re delighted.”Asked whether the accolade was the "people’s Ballon d’Or”, a description once used by Benzema, Dembele replied: "Benzema is the people’s Ballon d’Or, the first one, and I am the second.”Dembele insisted the award also belonged to his club. "Yes, of course, it’s for the team. For all the people who are fans of me, all the Parisian supporters, the whole club, the staff and the players,” he said. Recovering from an injury that has sidelined him in recent weeks, the striker said: "It’s better, I’ll be back soon.”One moment defined PSG's first Champions League triumph amidst the noise of Munich’s Allianz Arena, – Dembele's eyes fixed on Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer. The French forward’s stare was more than intimidation, it was the symbol of a player transformed.That image, Dembele glaring at Sommer before another hurried clearance, summed up the determination that helped produce a 5-0 rout and delivered PSG’s long-awaited European triumph. It followed an individual campaign by Dembele that put helped him pick up the coveted award at a ceremony in Paris on Monday.Since his 2023 arrival from Barcelona, Dembele has been reimagined under Luis Enrique, evolving from a mercurial winger into a complete forward. The Spanish coach gradually pushed the Frenchman into central positions and gave him licence to roam. "The coach gives me a lot of freedom on the pitch,” Dembele said. "I’m not forced to remain at the point of the attack like a number nine. I just try to create space and to cause a bit of chaos in midfield.”Enrique’s assessment was emphatic after Dembele struck back-to-back hat-tricks last season. "Ousmane can become the player he wants to be,” he said. "If he remains confident in front of goal, he has no equal. He can score in any position, even with his head. He’s a phenomenal player.”That freedom has translated into the most productive campaign of Dembele's career. He finished the 2024-25 season with 35 goals and 14 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions with the capital club, including 21 Ligue 1 goals to finish top scorer. He provided two assists in the Champions League final alone.Beyond goals, his defensive work has been a hallmark. In Munich, Dembele produced more sprints than any other PSG player, according to UEFA’s performance data, leading the press that unsettled Inter’s back line from the opening whistle.For Enrique, those runs mattered as much as the goals. "I sincerely believe he deserves the Ballon d’Or,” the coach said. "Not just for the titles he won or the goals he scored, but for his pressing ... He’s done it all season, but exceptionally in this (Champions League) final.”Dembele’s ball-carrying and delicate turns have long been a trademark, his two-footed dribbling leaving defenders disoriented. But the 2025 version added ruthlessness in front of goal and a willingness to set the tone without the ball. "There is a consistency that makes the team better,” Enrique said in February. "He was already good last season but in 2025 he is even better. You can see his teammates looking for him and finding him. He has an impeccable attitude.”Such words mark a stark change from the perception of Dembele two years ago, when injuries and inconsistency meant his potential often seemed only partly fulfilled. At PSG, he has become not only decisive but reliable.France has produced Ballon d’Or winners before - Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema in 2022. For much of the last decade the assumption was that Kylian Mbappe would be next. Yet as PSG closed their season of domestic dominance and European conquest, the conversation shifted. "I’d give the Ballon d’Or to Mr Ousmane Dembele,” Enrique said after the final. "The way he defended (against Inter)... only that can be worth the Ballon d’Or. This is how you lead a team.”Last season has redrawn Dembele’s legacy. His dribbling still dazzles, but now it is joined by goals, assists and an appetite for pressing that even his coach calls exemplary. The stare at Sommer in Munich captured it all: a player once labelled fragile now the embodiment of PSG’s ferocity. From unfulfilled promise to fully realised talent, Dembele has become the symbol of a team - and France’s latest Ballon d’Or winner.

An early goal by defender Nayef Aguerd gave Marseille a 1-0 win over reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain Monday, a rare success against their great rivals in a game delayed by 24 hours by storms in southern France.Moroccan defender Aguerd, signed just before the recent transfer deadline from West Ham United, scored his second goal in as many Ligue 1 appearances for his new club with five minutes gone at the Velodrome. PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier came for a deflected Mason Greenwood cross but got nothing on the ball, allowing Aguerd to head into the unguarded net and score the only goal of the game.The fixture, the biggest in French football, was scheduled to go ahead on Sunday but was called off because local authorities feared forecast heavy rainfall would be a significant risk for both players and spectators. With little space in a packed calendar and both clubs involved in the Champions League, the match was put back just a day.That proved awkward for PSG as it meant a clash with the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony in Paris, at which a host of their squad were nominated for the men's player of the year prize. Among them was Ousmane Dembele, the top scorer for the Champions League winners last season who was able to attend the ceremony having been ruled out of the Marseille clash due to injury.PSG coach Luis Enrique could have done with Dembele in the game, as well as his fellow injury absentees Desire Doue and Joao Neves. Achraf Hakimi was pushed forward from his usual right-back position to the wing, but it was still a strong Paris team. Nevertheless, Marseille held onto the lead following the early goal to claim a first home league victory against PSG since November 2011.Aguerd's goal was the first time they had even found the net at home to PSG in Ligue 1 since 2017. Amine Gouiri hit the bar soon after as Marseille sought to add to their advantage. The home side also had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half, before goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli made a couple of key saves to deny the visitors after the break.Marseille saw the game out, although not before fiery coach Roberto De Zerbi was shown a late red card on the touchline. It is a first loss of the season for PSG, who had won their first four matches in Ligue 1. They fall off the top of the table, behind Monaco on goals scored.Both teams have 12 points, as do Lyon and Strasbourg who complete the top four. Marseille are up to sixth, three points adrift of the leading quartet.

France forward Ousmane Dembele on Monday won the men's Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious individual prize in football, rewarding his starring role in the Paris Saint-Germain side that lifted the Champions League trophy last season.Dembele, 28, pipped Barcelona and Spain teenage sensation Lamine Yamal to the prize at a ceremony in Paris and succeeds Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri, who won the trophy in 2024. The former Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona winger, who was part of the France team that won the World Cup in 2018, scored 35 goals in all competitions as PSG won a French league and cup double as well as the Champions League for the first time in their history."I really don't have the words. It was an incredible season with PSG," said an emotional Dembele, who said his club coach Luis Enrique had been "like a father". "It is an individual trophy but it was really the collective that won it," added Dembele, who was one of nine members of the triumphant PSG team from last season nominated for the prize. "The Ballon d'Or has not really been an objective for me in my career but I worked hard for the team to win the Champions League."The 18-year-old Yamal, who was a teammate of Dembele's at Barcelona when he first broke through in 2023, earlier won the Kopa Trophy for the best player aged under 21 - the second year running he has taken that award.Luis Enrique and Sarina Wiegman landed the top coaching accolades following their sensational seasons in charge of Paris St-Germain and England’s Lionesses. Enrique achieved the remarkable Treble with a European club for the second time in his career, previously doing so with Barcelona in the 2014-15 season. He joins Pep Guardiola, who has also done this twice. And Wiegman became the first manager in either the men's or women's game to lead a team to five consecutive major international tournament finals: two with Netherlands, three with England.Enrique said in a statement: "Thank you to my family, thank you to PSG. I also want to thank two special people: Nasser Al-Khelaifi (PSG chairman) and Luís Campos (PSG sporting director). We have a special relationship. A message to my players who are there: it’s nice to win individual awards but I think the most important thing is the recognition of the fans."Spain's Bonmati wins Women's Ballon d'OrBarcelona and Spain star Aitana Bonmati won the Women's Ballon d'Or, the third consecutive year she has taken the prize. Bonmati edged out Mariona Caldentey, her teammate in the Spain side beaten on penalties by England in the Women's Euro 2025 final in July.The 27-year-old midfielder also lost the Women's Champions League final with her club last season, at the hands of Caldentey's Arsenal. Bonmati was named player of the tournament at the Euros, despite not starting either of Spain's first two matches as she recovered from a bout of viral meningitis.Alessia Russo, one of the nominees from the triumphant England European Championship team, came in third place. The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual prize in both men's and women's football, and Bonmati's run of three in a row follows back-to-back victories for her Barcelona and Spain teammate Alexia Putellas. Norway's Ada Hegerberg and USA star Megan Rapinoe are the only other players to have won the Women's Ballon d'Or since it was introduced in 2018.

A Bradley Barcola brace earned Paris Saint-Germain a 2-0 win over Lens in Ligue 1 on Sunday, while Kylian Mbappe’s brother Ethan scored deep into second-half added time to give Lille a last-gasp victory.The result sent PSG back to the top of the table as the reigning champions secured their fourth win from four outings this term.However, the match threw up some injury headaches for coach Luis Enrique ahead of the start of PSG’s Champions League defence next week, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Lee Kang-in and Lucas Beraldo all limping off.Barcola sent PSG ahead on the quarter-hour with an elegant curling finish from 20 yards.New PSG signing Illya Zabarnyi came close to turning into his own net on 27 minutes following a rare Lens foray forward.But things did then go wrong for the dominant hosts as star winger Kvaratskhelia was forced off two minutes later with a calf issue, casting a doubt over his presence on Wednesday as PSG open their Champions League title defence against Atalanta.Barcola doubled PSG’s lead six minutes after half-time when he drove in from the left before arrowing a right-footed finish from distance past the dive of goalkeeper Robin Risser.But PSG’s injury woes accumulated in the second period when first midfielder Lee, then defender Beraldo had to be replaced.Earlier in Lille, 18-year-old Ethan Mbappe volleyed home eight minutes into injury time to give Lille a 2-1 home win over Toulouse despite the hosts being a goal down as the clock ticked past 90. A penalty at the very start of injury time converted by Nabil Bentaleb had brought the hosts level before Mbappe lashed home a late winner.Both goals came courtesy of late substitutes introduced by coach Bruno Genesio, after Toulouse were reduced to 10 men on 80 minutes.Following his departure from PSG in the wake of his elder brother Kylian’s acrimonious free transfer to Real Madrid, Mbappe joined Lille in July last year.The midfielder’s first strike for the 2020/21 Ligue 1 winners came on his 11th league appearance as he ghosted in at the far post to thrash Osame Sahraoui’s stood-up cross past the helpless visiting goalkeeper.“Last year was a bit of a difficult year for me, with a lot of injuries,” said Mbappe. “Coming back with a goal, honestly, there’s no better way to start a new season.”Frank Magri opened the scoring for Toulouse early in the second period before Lille’s late show.The last-gasp win provisionally took Lille to the top of the Ligue 1 table, on 10 points, before PSG won to knock them down to second. Lyon, the only other club to boast a 100 percent record in Ligue 1 this season, could take top spot with a victory in the weekend’s final match away to Rennes.Elsewhere, Liam Rosenior’s youthful Strasbourg side grabbed a 1-0 win at home to Le Havre thanks to Joaquin Panichelli’s 92nd-minute spot-kick. Paris FC claimed their second win of the campaign, holding out 2-1 at last-placed Brest, while Metz drew 1-1 with Angers.

HE Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani met with Minister of Interior of the French Republic Bruno Retailleau, during his official visit to Paris.During the meeting, ways to enhance joint co-operation in security fields were discussed.The meeting reflected the commitment to develop the strategic partnership between the two countries and exchange expertise in various security fields.

The year 2025 marks the 15th anniversary of our presence in Doha — a milestone made possible by the unwavering support and generosity of Qatar Foundation. It is a moment to honour the journey that has brought us here and to set our sights on what comes next.Today, I am pleased to welcome you all to HEC Paris, Doha.By this fall, we will have enrolled our 1,500th participant in our degree programmes, reflecting the trust that individuals and organisations across the region place in our model of rigorous, practice-oriented learning and its capacity to help people become a “better version of themselves”. We are proud of our EMBA, ranked among the best in the world.We also welcome the second intake of the Emerging Leaders Track within our flagship Executive MBA, designed to accelerate managerial readiness and broaden strategic perspective early in a leader’s journey.In parallel, our newest business case study on Meeza is ready for publication, bringing fresh local insight to classrooms and boardrooms across the globe.At HEC Paris, we enjoy seeing ideas move from discussion to implementation — and this is the time to do so. To our incoming students: you join a worldwide community defined by ambition, integrity, and impact, and united by the desire to create a better world for all, ethically.Use this year to challenge assumptions, expand your network, and turn learning into tangible value for yourself, your organisation, and your community.On behalf of our faculty and staff, I wish each of you a year of meaningful progress, professional growth, and lasting success. As it is said in French: bon voyage!