The Ballon d'Or 2025, considered the most prestigious honour in the football world, has officially released its shortlist of male and female players. The award is organized and distributed by France Football.
Sports News: The official shortlist for the Ballon d'Or 2025, the most prestigious award in the football world, has been released. Once again, football's two greatest players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have not been nominated. This is the second consecutive year that these two legends have been absent from the list.
Organized by France Football, this annual award honours the best male and female footballers in the world. In addition, several other awards are given, such as Best Goalkeeper (Yashin Trophy), Best Young Player (Kopa Trophy), Best Club, and Best Coach.
Men's Category: List of 30 Contenders
A total of 30 players have been nominated in this year's men's category. These include several new and young stars who are currently dominating European football.
- Key Names: Spain's Lamine Yamal, France's Ousmane Dembélé, England's Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, and Scotland's Scott McTominay.
- Top Favourites: France's Kylian Mbappé and Norway's Erling Haaland.
- PSG Dominance: Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the recent Champions League winner, has the most players on the list with 9 nominations. The nominated players from PSG are — Dembélé, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Désiré Doué, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Fabián Ruiz, and Vitinha.
The End of the Messi and Ronaldo Era?
Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or a record 8 times, while Cristiano Ronaldo is second with 5 trophies. Ronaldo has been nominated a record 18 times, the most in history. Messi is currently playing for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. Both players are now in the final stages of their careers, and their presence in major European tournaments has been limited in the past few seasons. This has made their absence from the nomination list for the second year in a row a topic of discussion.
Women's Category Shortlist
The women's category list includes the world's top female footballers. This category features a great mix of players from Europe, America, and Asia. However, like the men's category, the women's category also includes many new faces compared to past winners.
Nominees for Ballon d'Or
Men: Jude Bellingham, Ousmane Dembélé, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Désiré Doué, Denzel Dumfries, Serhou Guirassy, Viktor Gyökeres, Erling Haaland, Achraf Hakimi, Harry Kane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Robert Lewandowski, Alexis Mac Allister, Lautaro Martínez, Kylian Mbappé, Scott McTominay, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Michael Olise, Cole Palmer, Pedri, Raphinha, Declan Rice, Fabián Ruiz, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Vinícius Júnior, Vitinha, Florian Wirtz, Lamine Yamal.
Women: Sandy Baltimore, Barbra Banda, Aitana Bonmatí, Lucy Bronze, Klara Bühl, Mariona Caldentey, Sofia Cantore, Steph Catley, Thembi Kgatlana, Melchie Dumornay, Emily Fox, Cristiana Girelli, Esther González, Caroline Graham Hansen, Hanna Hampton, Pernille Harder, Patri Guijarro, Amanda Gutierrez, Lindsey Horan, Chloe Kelly, Frida Leonhardsen-Maanum, Marta, Clara Mateo, Eva Pajor, Claudia Piña, Alexia Putellas, Alessia Russo, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Caroline Weir, Leah Williamson.
- Men's Coach of the Year: Antonio Conte, Luis Enrique, Hansi Flick, Enzo Maresca, Arne Slot.
- Women's Coach of the Year: Sonia Bompastor, Arthur Elias, Justin Madugu, Renée Slegers, Sarina Wiegman.
- Men's Club of the Year: Barcelona, Botafogo, Chelsea, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain.
- Women's Club of the Year: Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, OL Lyon, Orlando Pride.
- Yashin Trophy Men: Alisson Becker, Yassine Bounou, Lucas Chevalier, Thibaut Courtois, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Emiliano Martínez, Jan Oblak, David Raya, Matz Sels, Yann Sommer.
- Yashin Trophy Women: Ann-Katrin Berger, Cata Coll, Hannah Hampton, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Daphne van Domselaar.
- Kopa Trophy Men: Ayyoub Bouaddi, Pau Cubarsí, Désiré Doué, Estevão, Dean Huijsen, Miles Levis-Kelly, Rodrigo Mora, João Neves, Lamine Yamal, Kenan Yildiz.
- Kopa Trophy Women: Michelle Agyemang, Linda Caicedo, Wieke Kaptein, Vicky López, Claudia Martínez Oviendo.
The Ballon d'Or is considered the highest honour for individual achievement in the world of football. The award was first presented in 1956 and has since become the most prestigious award in the history of the sport. Winners are selected by votes from journalists, coaches, and national team captains from around the world.
