A total of 13 awards will be presented this Monday at the Ballon d’Or 2025 gala. Who has a chance? Who is eligible to vote? The most important questions and answers.
Who will succeed Ballon d’Or winner Rodri? This mystery will be revealed this Monday evening at 9 p.m. at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris—but as always, it’s not the only one. Here’s all the info you need about the ceremony.
Who awards the Ballon d’Or—and what is it anyway?
Since 1956, the French magazine France Football has been awarding the Ballon d’Or to the best soccer player of the year. Initially, only European players were eligible, but since 1995, all players who play in Europe have been eligible. And since 2007, there have been no regional restrictions at all. While FIFA was involved in the award between 2010 and 2015, UEFA has been involved since 2024, giving up the “European Footballer of the Year” award in return. FIFA has been awarding the World Footballer of the Year title since 2016, but only at the turn of the year.
What prizes will be awarded at the Ballon d’Or gala in 2025?
Once again, the focus will be on the Ballon d’Or for men and women, but there are now numerous other categories. The following prizes will be awarded in 2025:
– The Ballon d’Or for men
– The Ballon d’Or for women
– The Kopa Trophy for men (best young player)
– The Kopa Trophy for women (best young player)
– The Yashin Trophy for men (best goalkeeper)
– The Yashin Trophy for women (best goalkeeper)
– The Gerd Müller Trophy for men (best goalscorer in club/national team)
– The Gerd Müller Trophy for women (best goalscorer in club/national team)
– The Johan Cruyff Trophy for men (best coach in club/national team)
– The Johan Cruyff Trophy for women (best coach in a club/national team)
– The Trophy for Team of the Year for men
– The Trophy for Team of the Year for women
– The Socrates Award (for a soccer player who campaigns for integration, environmental protection, or people who are disadvantaged or threatened by conflict).
The Yashin Trophy for women, the Gerd Müller Trophy for women, and the Kopa Trophy for women will all be awarded for the first time this year.
Who can vote—and how?
Journalists from around the world vote in the main categories. The jury is made up of representatives from the 100 best nations in the current FIFA world rankings for men and the 50 best nations for women. Each jury member selects ten players from the list of 30 nominees in descending order of their performance. The ten selected players receive 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 points respectively. The player with the most points takes home the Ballon d’Or.
The three criteria are: a) Individual performance, determination and impressive character; b) Team performance and success; c) Class and fair play. The evaluation period is the past season.
Who is nominated for the Ballon d’Or in the men’s category?
(Nominees from Germany are in bold)
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Ousmane Dembelé (Paris Saint-Germain)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester City)
Désiré Doué (Paris Saint-Germain)
Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan)
Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund)
Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting Lisbon/Arsenal)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Harry Kane (FC Bayern)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (SSC Napoli/Paris Saint-Germain)
Robert Lewandowski (FC Barcelona)
Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool FC)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)
Scott McTominay (SSC Napoli)
Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)
Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain)
Michael Olise (FC Bayern)
Cole Palmer (FC Chelsea)
Pedri (FC Barcelona)
Raphinha (FC Barcelona)
Declan Rice (FC Arsenal)
Fabian (Paris Saint-Germain)
Mohamed Salah (FC Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool FC)
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain)
Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen/Liverpool FC)
Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona)
Dembelé is considered the favorite, while Lamine Yamal will have to console himself with the Kopa Trophy for now. The Bundesliga trio, like Florian Wirtz, will come away empty-handed. Defending champion Rodri, who missed most of the season due to injury, is not even on the shortlist.
Who is nominated for the Ballon d’Or in the women’s category?
Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea FC)
Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride)
Aitana (FC Barcelona)
Lucy Bronze (Chelsea FC)
Klara Bühl (FC Bayern)
Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal FC)
Sofia Cantore (Juventus Turin/Washington Spirit)
Steph Catley (Arsenal FC)
Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City)
Melchie Dumornay (OL Lyonnes)
Emily Fox (Arsenal FC)
Cristiana Girelli (Juventus Turin)
Esther Gonzalez (Gotham FC)
Caroline Graham Hansen (FC Barcelona)
Patri Guijarro (FC Barcelona)
Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras)
Hannah Hampton (FC Chelsea)
Pernille Harder (FC Bayern)
Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes)
Chloe Kelly (Manchester City/Arsenal)
Frida Leonhardsen Maanum (FC Arsenal)
Marta (Orlando Pride)
Clara Mateo (Paris FC)
Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona)
Claudia Pina (FC Barcelona)
Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona)
Alessia Russo (Arsenal FC)
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea FC)
Caroline Weir (Real Madrid)
Leah Williamson (Arsenal FC)
For Aitana, who is in contention again this year, it would be her third consecutive award. Her biggest rival this year is likely to be Alessia Russo, who won the Champions League with Arsenal and the European Championship with England.
Who is nominated for the Kopa Trophy in the men’s category?
Ayyoub Bouaddi (OSC Lille)
Pau Cubarsi (FC Barcelona)
Desiré Doué (Paris Saint-Germain)
Estevao (Palmeiras/Chelsea)
Dean Huijsen (AFC Bournemouth/Real Madrid)
Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal FC)
Rodrigo Mora (FC Porto)
Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain)
Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona)
Kenan Yildiz (Juventus Turin)
Who is nominated for the Kopa Trophy in the women’s category?
Michelle Agyemang (Brighton)
Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid)
Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea FC)
Vicky Lopez (FC Barcelona)
Claudia Martínez Ovando (Club Olimpia)
Who is nominated for the Yashin Trophy in the men’s category?
Alisson (Liverpool FC)
Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal)
Lucas Chevalier (OSC Lille/Paris Saint-Germain)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester City)
Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
David Raya (Arsenal FC)
Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest)
Yann Sommer (Inter Milan)
Who is nominated for the Yashin Trophy in the women’s category?
Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC)
Cata Coll (FC Barcelona)
Hannah Hampton (Chelsea FC)
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC/Brighton)
Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal FC)
Who is nominated for the Johan Cruyff Trophy in the men’s category?
Antonio Conte (SSC Napoli)
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Hansi Flick (FC Barcelona)
Enzo Maresca (Chelsea FC)
Arne Slot (Liverpool FC)
Who is nominated for the Johan Cruyff Trophy in the women’s category?
Sonia Bompastor (Chelsea FC)
Arthur Elias (Brazilian national team)
Justine Madugu (Nigerian national team)
Renee Slegers (Arsenal FC)
Sarina Wiegman (English national team)
Who are the nominees for Men’s Team of the Year?
FC Barcelona (Spain)
Botafogo (Brazil)
Chelsea FC (England)
Liverpool FC (England)
Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Who is nominated for Women’s Team of the Year?
Arsenal FC (England)
FC Barcelona (Spain)
Chelsea FC (England)
OL Lyonnes (France)
Orlando Pride (United States)
