Ballon d’Or 2025 Nominees Announced: Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal, Vitinha Lead the Race for Football’s Golden Ball

The nominees for football’s most prestigious individual accolade, the Ballon d’Or 2025, have been unveiled ahead of the ceremony set for September 22 in Paris. Following an unforgettable 2024-25 season, the shortlist features a star-studded roster of contenders, including Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, and PSG teammates Vitinha and Achraf Hakimi, all recognized for their outstanding contributions over the past year.

Dembele enters as the favorite after spearheading PSG’s treble-winning campaign, which crowned them with their first-ever Champions League title. Meanwhile, emerging sensation Lamine Yamal has made a powerful case as the game’s next superstar through his dazzling performances for Barcelona. Other top contenders include Raphinha and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, both instrumental in securing league titles for their teams. The football world eagerly awaits the announcement of the winner at the Paris ceremony, where the ultimate individual honor in football will be awarded.

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain)

Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)

Desire Doue (Paris Saint-Germain)

Denzel Dumfries (Inter)

Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund)

Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal)

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain)

Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)

Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)

Lautaro Martinez (Inter)

Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)

Scott McTominay (Napoli)

Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)

Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain)

Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)

Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

Pedri (Barcelona)

Raphinha (Barcelona)

Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)

Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain)

Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)