UEFA Champions League winners and Women’s Euro champions dominated the list of Ballon d’Or nominees, with Thursday’s announcement potentially paving the way for new winners of the sport’s top individual accolade in the men’s and women’s game.
On the men’s side, nine Paris Saint-Germain players including Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia made the shortlist just two months after playing a key role as the French club won their first-ever Champions League title. Other contenders include Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah after a record-breaking campaign en route to his second Premier League title and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, a rising star after winning the domestic double last season. Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior is also back among the nominees a year after he and his club teammates boycotted the ceremony upon discovering he would not win the prize.
Menawhile in the women’s game, four members of England’s Women’s Euro-winning team, including standout Alessia Russo and stalwart Lucy Bronze, also made the cut. Two U.S. women’s national team players — Emily Fox and Lindsey Heaps — are also on the list and five NWSL players, including last season’s MVP Temwa Chawinga, are also in the running.
France Football, the French magazine that organizes the Ballon d’Or, also named the nominees for several other categories — the Kopa Trophy for young players, the Yashin Trophy for goalkeepers, the Johan Cruyff award that celebrates coaches and the club of the year award. The winners will be announced on Sept. 22 at a ceremony in Paris.
If we had a 2025 Ballon d’Or vote, here are the nominees we would vote for and why
James Benge
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See below for a full list of the nominees.
Men’s Ballon d’Or nominees
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/England)
- Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain/France)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain/Italy)
- Desire Doue (Paris Saint-Germain/France)
- Denzel Dumfries (Inter/Netherlands)
- Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund/Guinea)
- Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal/Sweden)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway)
- Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain/Morocco)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain/Georgia)
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona/Poland)
- Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool/Argentina)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter/Argentina)
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/France)
- Scott McTominay (Napoli/Scotland)
- Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
- Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/France)
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea/England)
- Pedri (Barcelona/Spain)
- Raphinha (Barcelona/Brazil)
- Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
- Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain/Spain)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt)
- Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid/Brazil)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool/Netherlands)
- Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
- Florian Wirtz (Liverpool/Germany)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees
- Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea/France)
- Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride/Zambia)
- Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona/Spain)
- Lucy Bronze (Chelsea/England)
- Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
- Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal/Spain)
- Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit/Italy)
- Steph Catley (Arsenal/Australia)
- Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current/Malawi)
- Melchie Dumornay (Lyon/Haiti)
- Emily Fox (Arsenal/USA)
- Cristiana Girelli (Juventus/Italy)
- Esther Gonzalez (NJ/NY Gotham FC/Spain)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona/Norway)
- Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain)
- Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras/Brazil)
- Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
- Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich/Denmark)
- Lindsey Heaps (Lyon/USA)
- Chloe Kelly (Arsenal/England)
- Frida Leonhardsen Maanum (Arsena/ Norway)
- Marta (Orlando Pride/Brazil)
- Clara Mateo (Paris FC/France)
- Ewa Pajor (Barcelona/Poland)
- Claudia Pina (Barcelona/Spain)
- Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/Spain)
- Alessia Russo (Arsenal/England)
- Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea/Sweden)
- Caroline Weir (Real Madrid/Scotland)
- Leah Williamson (Arsenal/England)
Men’s Kopa Trophy nominees
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille/France)
- Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain)
- Desire Doue (Paris Saint-Germain/France)
- Estevao Willian (Chelsea/Brazil)
- Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid/Spain)
- Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal/England)
- Rodrigo Mora (Porto/Portugal)
- Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
- Kenan Yildiz (Juventus/Turkey)
Women’s Kopa Trophy nominees
- Michelle Agyemang (Arsenal/England)
- Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid/Colombia)
- Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea/Netherlands)
- Claudia Martinez Ovando (Club Olimpia/Paraguay)
- Vicky Lopez (Barcelona/Spain)
Men’s Yashin Trophy nominees
- Alisson Becker (Liverpool/Brazil)
- Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal/Morocco)
- Lucas Chevalier (Lille/France)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid/Belgium)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain/Italy)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa/Argentina)
- Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid/Slovenia)
- David Raya (Arsenal/Spain)
- Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest/Belgium)
- Yann Sommer (Inter/Switzerland)
Women’s Yashin Trophy nominees
- Ann-Katrin Berger (NJ/NY Gotham FC/Germany)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)
- Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
- Chiamaka Nnadozie (Brighton/Nigeria)
- Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal/Netherlands)
Men’s Johan Cruyff Trophy nominees
- Antonio Conte (Napoli)
- Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Hansi Flick (Barcelona)
- Enzo Maresca (Chelsea)
- Arne Slot (Liverpool)
Women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy nominees
- Sonia Bompastor (Chelsea)
- Arthur Elias (Brazil)
- Justine Madugu (Nigeria)
- Renee Slegers (Arsenal)
- Sarina Wiegman (England)
Men’s Club of the Year nominees
- Barcelona (Spain)
- Botafogo (Brazil)
- Chelsea (England)
- Liverpool (England)
- Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Women’s Club of the Year nominees
- Arsenal (England)
- Barcelona (Spain)
- Chelsea (England)
- OL Lyonnes (France)
- Orlando Pride (United States)
