By: Kwame Bediako
The nominees for the 2025 Ballon d’Or were announced on Thursday, August 7, 2025, marking the beginning of the race for football’s most prestigious individual awards. The list features 30 players for both the men’s and women’s categories, showcasing a wide array of talent from top clubs across Europe and beyond.
The awards ceremony will take place on September 22, 2025, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, where winners in multiple categories will be honored.
The men’s Ballon d’Or nominees include some of the biggest names in football, such as Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah.
Notably, Paris Saint-Germain dominates the list with multiple nominees including Ousmane Dembélé, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, and the young sensation Lamine Yamal from Barcelona, who at 18 could become the youngest ever winner of the award.
Other notable names from various leagues and clubs include Harry Kane, Lautaro Martinez, Scott McTominay and Declan Rice, illustrating the global spread of top football talent.
The women’s Ballon d’Or nominees also highlight some of the finest female footballers, with stars such as Alexia Putellas, Marta, Pernille Harder and Chloe Kelly slated for possible awards.
This marks a sustained growth in recognition for women’s football, paralleling the importance and visibility of the men’s competition. The nominees reflect a competitive field of athletes representing clubs and national teams worldwide.
In addition to the main Ballon d’Or awards, several other prestigious trophies are part of the 2025 award season. The Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best male and female players under 21, includes nominees like Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) and Desire Doue (PSG) among men, and Michelle Agyemang (Arsenal) and Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid) among women.
The Yashin Trophy, recognizing the best goalkeepers, features top names including Emiliano Martinez and Gianluigi Donnarumma for men, and Ann-Katrin Berger and Cata Coll for women.
Furthermore, the Johan Cruyff Trophy honors the best coaches, with nominees like Antonio Conte and Sarina Wiegman in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively.
The announcement this year continues the modern approach adopted for the fourth time, assessing players based on their performance during the 2024–25 season, not just the calendar year.
This period includes key tournaments such as the Club World Cup, won by Chelsea, which influenced the 2025 nominations. With the ceremony less than two months away, football fans and experts are eagerly anticipating who will succeed last year’s winner Rodri, who made history as the first Spanish player to win since 1960.
