2025 Ballon d'Or: Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha headline list of nominees - but who's favorite?

The 2025 Ballon d’Or nominees were revealed on Thursday. Unsurprisingly, the three biggest candidates to win the award are in contention: Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha. But who’s favorite?

All three stars have made a strong case to emerge victorious with fantastic performances in the 2024-25 season. Let’s keep in mind the Ballon d’Or now takes into consideration the typical club season rather than the calendar year.

While many point to Dembele winning the prize after helping PSG win their first-ever Champions League title, others believe Raphinha did well enough with Barcelona to get more votes. Yamal, however, is also seen as a potential winner after another campaign of growth with Barca and the Spanish national team. Here, choose your pick.

The full list of 2025 Ballon d’Or nominees

While the aforementioned names may be seen as frontrunners for this year’s award, the list of 2025 Ballon d’Or nominees doesn’t lack in strong contenders, with a number of world-class players making the cut.

• Jude Bellingham
• Ousmane Dembele
• Gianluigi Donnarumma
• Desire Doue
• Denzel Dumfries
• Serhou Guirassy
• Viktor Gyokeres
• Erling Haaland
• Achraf Hakimi
• Harry Kane
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
• Robert Lewandowski
• Alexis Mac Allister
• Lautaro Martinez
• Kylian Mbappe
• Scott McTominay
• Nuno Mendes
• Joao Neves
• Michael Olise
• Cole Palmer
• Pedri
• Raphinha
• Declan Rice
• Fabian Ruiz
• Mohamed Salah
• Virgil van Dijk
• Vinicius Jr.
• Vitinha
• Florian Wirtz
• Lamine Yamal

see also

Not Lionel Messi: Only two Argentine players among the 2025 Ballon d’Or nominees

When is the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner announced?

The 2025 Ballon d’Or gala will be held on Monday, September 22, at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France. The ceremony will reveal the winner in every category ― concluding with the announcement of the best male player of the season.

Notable absentees

For the second year in a row, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were not among the Ballon d’Or nominees. It appears to be the end of a glorious era in soccer, with the former Barcelona and Real Madrid stars no longer competing for the most prestigious individual award in the sport.