Countdown to the Ballon d'Or: France Football announces the candidates this Thursday

This Thursday the world will know the 30 nominees for the 2025 Ballon d'Or that will be awarded on September 22. The candidates who were chosen by the magazine France Football will begin to receive votes from an international jury of journalists.

In this way, the award that began to be presented in 1956 begins to take shape to change its successor after Rodri Hernández (Manchester City) and Aitana Bonmatí (FC Barcelona) won it last year.

The Ballon d'Or has two proper names: Lamine Yamal and Dembélé

Both Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona) and Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint Germain) have a serious chance of winning the individual award coveted by any footballer. Another candidate who is strong and aims to be, at least in the top 5, is Raphinha (FC Barcelona).

As for the women's football category, Aitana Bonmatí (2-time winner) and Mariona Caldentey are the favorites of this edition.

In this sense, the prestigious award is based on three fundamental criteria that guide the jury's vote. The aspects evaluated are the individual performance of the player throughout the season, the collective achievements and the behavior inside and outside the field of play, that is, fair play.

Considering this, both Lamine and Dembélé won the League, Cup and Super Cup in their respective countries. However, the Frenchman also managed to be crowned champion of the UEFA Champions League, which will probably tip the balance a little, but the level shown by the new '10' of Barça was superlative. Do you think Yamal will be able to prevail over the Gaul in the voting?

The Ballon d'Or, a gala full of awards

Apart from the Ballon d'Or for men and women, the Kopa and Yashin Trophy —best young player and best goalkeeper, respectively— will be awarded to women for the first time. In addition to the Gerd Müller award to the top winner and the Sócrates award, which focuses on the social commitment of a footballer.

The Johan Cruyff award will also be given to the best coaches, both male and female, apart from the award to the two best clubs in the world, considering both sexes.

It should be remembered that only the Ballon d'Or has 30 candidates. The other individual awards contemplate less than 10.

How do journalists vote for the top prize of the ceremony?

Once the nominees are announced, the voting process for the Ballon d'Or is activated. The jury is composed of 100 journalists from the countries best positioned in the FIFA ranking for the men's award, while for the women's award there are only 50.

Each member of the jury must select ten candidates, ordering them according to their preference. Each position is assigned a specific score: the first receives 15 points, the second 12, the third 10, and so on until the tenth, which adds 1 point.