2025 Ballon d’Or: Updated Rankings After France Football Announced Nominees
- France Football have announced the nominees for all the categories of the 2025 Ballon d'Or award
- Unsurprisingly, Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal lead the 30 nominees in the men's category
- The Paris Saint-Germain and France international attacker remains a heavy favourite to win the award
The 2025 Ballon d'Or nominees in the men’s category have been announced, with Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal remaining the favourites to win the award.
One of Dembele or Yamal is expected to win the award this year after brilliant individual and team successes with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Source: Getty Images
According to France Football, the 30 nominees for this year's award were announced earlier today and expectedly, PSG players dominated with nine players.
Barcelona and Liverpool have four players nominated, Real Madrid has three, including a surprise nomination for last year's runner-up Vinicius Jr.
Legit.ng looks at the updated Ballon d'Or rankings after the nominees were announced.
Updated Ballon d'Or rankings
1. Ousmane Dembele
Dembele remains the overwhelming favourite to scoop the award despite rankings from different outlets putting him behind Lamine Yamal. His appearance at the FIFA Club World Cup final, in which Yamal did not play, gave him a heavy advantage.
As noted by Transfermarkt, the France international scored 35 goals and provided 16 assists. He led PSG to the quadruple, including their first-ever UEFA Champions League.
2. Lamine Yamal
Yamal had a brilliant season under Hansi Flick, helping Barcelona win the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup, beating rivals Real Madrid to all three trophies, including in the two cup finals.
His haul of 18 goals and 25 assists, and bright performances in the UEFA Champions League, put him on a podium finish, but not enough to overtake Dembele.
3. Mohamed Salah
The Egyptian winger was the Premier League’s best player by all metrics last season. He won the Golden Boot with 29 goals and the Playmaker's Award with 18 assists.
He was named the Player of the Season after helping Liverpool win the English top-flight title in Dutch manager Arne Slot's first season, and deserves a place on the podium.
Source: Getty Images
4. Raphinha
Brazilian attacker Raphinha was the highest goalscorer (13 goals) and top assister (9 assists) in the UEFA Champions League last season and was also La Liga’s best player after having the best season of his career.
Yamal's brilliance has overshadowed him in the race, but he is no pushover and produced standout performances last season.
5. Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe had a remarkable first season with Real Madrid, scoring 44 goals in all competitions and winning the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Despite Madrid's underwhelming domestic season, he is a candidate for the Ballon d'Or top five.
AI predicted Ballon d'Or winner
Legit.ng reported that AI predicted Ballon d'Or winner and the top 10, and it overwhelmingly favours PSG star Ousmane Dembele as the winner.
The AI-backed Dembele is to win with 63% of the votes. There was space for Lamine Yamal, Mohamed Salah, Cole Palmer and others in the top 10.
Source: Legit.ng
