The nominees for the 2025 Ballon d’Or have been revealed ahead of the annual ceremony, scheduled for Monday, Sept. 22, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
This year’s event will see 13 awards handed out — the most ever — as organizers expand the ceremony’s focus to include more recognition of women’s football. For the first time, female versions of the Kopa Trophy (best U21 player), Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper), and Gerd Müller Trophy (top scorer) will be awarded.
Headlining the nominations are players from clubs that lifted the Champions League trophies last season — Paris Saint-Germain on the men’s side, and Arsenal in the women’s competition.
Barcelona, meanwhile, features prominently across both lists. Names like Lamine Yamal, Alexia Putellas, Pedri and Aitana Bonmatí are back in contention.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who won last year’s Ballon d’Or, is absent this time. He suffered an ACL injury in September that sidelined him for much of the season. As a result, a new men’s winner will be named.
Among the top contenders: Ousmane Dembélé, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Mohamed Salah.
Dembélé is widely considered the favorite. He helped PSG to a historic first Champions League title — a dominant 5–0 win over Inter Milan in the final — and also delivered a domestic double in Ligue 1 and the French Cup.
Yamal and Raphinha stood out in Barcelona’s treble-winning season under Hansi Flick, but their struggles in Europe may work against them in the final vote.
Salah was seen as an early frontrunner. Under new manager Arne Slot, Liverpool won the Premier League. But losses in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup might have dented his chances.
On the women’s side, Arsenal stunned Barcelona in the Champions League final in Lisbon to claim their second European crown. Several of the Gunners — Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo, and Leah Williamson — followed that up by winning the Women’s Euro with England.
Other nominees include players from clubs across Europe and the U.S., such as Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, Pernille Harder, Mariona Caldentey, and Sandy Baltimore.
The full list of nominees is below.
Men’s Ballon d’Or nominees
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid & England)
- Ousmane Dembele (PSG & France)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG & Italy)
- Desire Doue (PSG & France)
- Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan & Netherlands)
- Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund & Guinea)
- Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal & Sweden)
- Erling Haaland (Man City & Norway)
- Achraf Hakimi (PSG & Morocco)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich & England)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG & Georgia)
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
- Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool & Argentina)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan & Argentina)
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid & France)
- Scott McTominay (Napoli & Scotland)
- Nuno Mendes (PSG & Portugal)
- Joao Neves (PSG & Portugal)
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich & France)
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea & England)
- Pedri (Barcelona & Spain)
- Raphinha (Barcelona & Brazil)
- Declan Rice (Arsenal & England)
- Fabian Ruiz (PSG & Spain)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid & Brazil)
- Vitinha (PSG & Portugal)
- Florian Wirtz (Liverpool & Germany)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona & Spain)
Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees
- Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea & France)
- Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride & Zambia)
- Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona & Spain)
- Lucy Bronze (Chelsea & England)
- Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich & Germany)
- Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal & Spain)
- Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit & Italy)
- Steph Catley (Arsenal & Australia)
- Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current & Malawi)
- Melchie Dumornay (Lyon & Haiti)
- Emily Fox (Arsenal & USA)
- Cristiana Girelli (Juventus & Italy)
- Esther Gonzalez (Gotham & Spain)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona & Norway)
- Patri Guijarro (Barcelona & Spain)
- Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras & Brazil)
- Hannah Hampton (Chelsea & England)
- Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich & Denmark)
- Lindsey Heaps (Lyon & USA)
- Chloe Kelly (Arsenal & England)
- Frida Maanum (Arsenal & Norway)
- Marta (Orlando Pride & Brazil)
- Clara Mateo (Paris FC & France)
- Ewa Pajor (Barcelona & Poland)
- Claudia Pina (Barcelona & Spain)
- Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain)
- Alessia Russo (Arsenal & England)
- Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea & Sweden)
- Caroline Weir (Real Madrid & Scotland)
- Leah Williamson (Arsenal & England)
Men’s Kopa Trophy shortlist
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille & France)
- Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona & Spain)
- Desire Doue (PSG & France)
- Estevao (Chelsea & Brazil)
- Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid & Spain)
- Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal & England)
- Rodrigo Mora (FC Porto & Portugal)
- Joao Neves (PSG & Portugal)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona & Spain)
- Kenan Yildiz (Juventus & Turkey)
Women’s Kopa Trophy shortlist
- Michelle Agyemang (Arsenal & England)
- Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid & Colombia)
- Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea & Netherlands)
- Vicky Lopez (Barcelona & Spain)
- Claudia Martinez (Olimpia & Paraguay)
Men’s Yashin Trophy shortlist
- Alisson Becker (Liverpool & Brazil)
- Yassie Bounou (Al Hilal & Morocco)
- Lucas Chevalier (Lille & France)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid & Belgium)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG & Italy)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa & Argentina)
- Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid & Slovakia)
- David Raya (Arsenal & Spain)
- Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest & Belgium)
- Yann Sommer (Inter Milan & Switzerland)
Women’s Yachine Trophy shortlist
- Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC &Germany)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona & Spain)
- Hannah Hampton (Chelsea & England)
- Chiamaka Nnadozie (Brighton & Nigeria)
- Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal & Netherlands)
Men’s Coach of the Year shortlist
- Antonio Conte (Napoli)
- Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Hansi Flick (Barcelona)
- Enzo Maresca (Chelsea)
- Arne Slot (Liverpool)
Women’s Coach of the Year shortlist
- Sonia Bompastor (Chelsea)
- Arthur Elias (Brazil)
- Justine Madugu (Nigeria)
- Renee Slegers (Arsenal)
- Sarina Wiegman (England)
Men’s Team of the Year shortlist
- Barcelona (Spain)
- Botafogo (Brazil)
- Chelsea (England)
- Liverpool (England)
- Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Women’s Team of the Year shortlist
- Arsenal (England)
- Barcelona (Spain)
- Chelsea (England)
- Olympique Lyonnais Feminine (France)
- Orlando Pride (United States)
