Ousmane Dembele’s mother in tax trouble for “alleged gift” in her account

The mother of the French footballer Ousmane Dembele She is immersed in a tax dispute over a transfer of 200,000 euros (about $232,000) that her son made to her in 2017, presented as “a gift” for her 40th birthday, her lawyer reported.

“Mr. Dembélé made a gift to his mother. The tax administration considers that it is taxable income, which we question,” Hubert Lefebvre, Fatimata Dembélé’s lawyer, told AFP, confirming information published in local media.

The mother of the 2025 Ballon d’Or asked the Rennes administrative court this Wednesday to cancel the tax applied to those 200,000 euros.

For this money to be considered a gift by the French tax administration, it must meet a criterion of “proportionality in relation to income”, and correspond to “significant life events”, explained lawyer Lefebvre.

“We considered that your mother’s 40th birthday was a date that allowed you to make a gift,” he said, estimating that there was “no tax fraud.” “We considered that your mother’s 40th birthday was a date that allowed you to make a gift,” he said, estimating that there was “no tax fraud.”

During the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony last month, Dembélé, formerly of FC Barcelona and current Paris Saint-Germain attacker, could not contain his tears as he thanked his mother from the stage of the Châtelet theater in the French capital.

The administrative court will make its decision public in a few weeks.