Can Football Manager take the credit for Ousmane Dembele's Ballon d'Or win? FourFourTwo asks the team behind the game

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Football Manager 26 is out soon - so FourFourTwo asked Sports Interactive's studio director, Miles Jacobson, whether one of the game's most famous players owes him any credit

Paris Saint-Germain's French forward #10 Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring the 0-4 during the UEFA Champions League football match VfB Stuttgart vs Paris Saint-Germain in Stuttgart, southwestern Germany, on January 29, 2025.
Ousmane Dembele is a huge fan of Football Manager (Image credit: FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Football Manager super fan Ousmane Dembele must be excited for the new game to drop.

During the 2018 World Cup, Dembele went viral for his quest to take the fictional Winchester FC into the Premier League in the game – and as life imitates art, the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner has reached the pinnacle of the sport himself.

Given the kind of football IQ that it takes to play under Luis Enrique though, FourFourTwo were keen to know the answer to our burning question: does Dembele owe a little of his incredible rise and his exceptional football IQ to Football Manager?

Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson: 'I wouldn't like to play Ousmane Dembele at Football Manager!'

Sports Interactive's Miles Jacobson (R)

Sports Interactive's Miles Jacobson (R) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Miles Jacobson – the studio director at Sports Interactive, who makes FM – says no: he wasn't expecting a mention in the forward's acceptance speed.

“I’m not going to take any credit from Ousmane! He’s a phenomenally talented footballer who’s worked incredibly hard to get where he is,” Jacobson smiles.

“Whether it was his idea or the manager’s at Paris Saint-Germain to switch him from playing wide to playing in the middle, but the way he’s adapted to that, he’s thoroughly deserving of the Ballon d’Or and hopefully he’ll still have time to play Football Manager!

“We can take a little bit of credit for telling the whole world about him when he was a 16-year-old that no one knew anything about – but I can’t take anything away from him at all. I wouldn’t like to play against him in an online game of FM!”

Surely though, FourFourTwo pushes, his seamless transition into a false nine role must be because he's used to the player roles in Football Manager? His tactical insight might be informed purely by his journey with Winchester…

“Anyone who works hard and thinks outside the box is going to take information from any and every source – if we are one of the sources, what an honour that would be,” Jacobson says. “I have no idea if he’s taken anything from the game or not, though.

Aitana Bonmati and Ousmane Dembele pose for a photo with the Women's Ballon d'Or and Men’s Ballon d’Or trophies during the 69th Ballon D'Or Ceremony at Theatre Du Chatelet on September 22, 2025 in Paris, France.

Ousmane Dembele was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner (Image credit: Kristy Sparow - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

“I’ve spoken publicly about how I send the game out to 4,500 footballers and obviously a lot of them will go into coaching: it’s been quite weird to see people playing the game as footballers, then go on to become coaches.”

Football Manager 26 is out on November 4, 2025.

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.

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