The renowned magazine France Football has already announced the 30 nominees for the 2025 Ballon d'Or, an award scheduled to be presented on September 22 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The award, currently held by Manchester City midfielder Rodri Hernández, will once again bring together the elite of world football.

As expected, the team that swept the nominations was Paris Saint-Germain, a team that achieved a historic quadruple (Ligue 1, French Cup, Champions Trophy, and the UEFA Champions League Champions) and managed to place nine of its players on the list for recognition as the best footballer of the 2024/25 season.

The representatives of the Parisian team who appear in this edition are:

  1. João Neves
  2. Désiré Doué
  3. Fabián Ruiz
  4. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
  5. Achraf Hakimi
  6. Nuno Mendes
  7. Vitinha
  8. Ousmane Dembélé
  9. Gianluigi Donnarumma

FC Barcelona and Liverpool also stand out in the 2025 Ballon d'Or nominations

In the second tier of teams with the most nominees, both FC Barcelona and Liverpool appear tied with four representatives, reflecting the impact of their respective campaigns. The Azulgrana team, the brand new champion of LaLiga, Cup, and Super Cup, will be represented by: 

  1. Pedri González
  2. Raphinha
  3. Robert Lewandowski
  4. Lamine Yamal

For their part, the Reds, monarchs of the Premier League, have the following candidates: 

  1. Mohamed Salah
  2. Florian Wirtz
  3. Virgil van Dijk
  4. Alexis Mac Allister

The complete list of the 30 nominees for the 2025 Men's Ballon d'Or:

  1. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/England)
  2. Ousmane Dembélé (PSG/France)
  3. Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
  4. Désiré Doué (PSG/France)
  5. Denzel Dumfries (Inter/Netherlands)
  6. Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund/Guinea)
  7. Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting-Arsenal/Sweden)
  8. Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway)
  9. Achraf Hakimi (PSG/Morocco)
  10. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)
  11. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG/Georgia)
  12. Robert Lewandowski (FC Barcelona/Poland)
  13. Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool/Argentina)
  14. Lautaro Martínez (Inter/Argentina)
  15. Scott McTominay (Naples/Scotland)
  16. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid/France)
  17. Nuno Mendes (PSG/Portugal)
  18. João Neves (PSG/Portugal)
  19. Pedri González (FC Barcelona/Spain)
  20. Cole Palmer (Chelsea/England)
  21. Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/France)
  22. Raphinha (FC Barcelona/Brazil)
  23. Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
  24. Fabián Ruiz (PSG/Spain)
  25. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool/Netherlands)
  26. Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid/Brazil)
  27. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt)
  28. Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen-Liverpool/Germany)
  29. Vitinha (PSG/Portugal)
  30. Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona/Spain)

Arsenal and Barça dominate among the nominees for the Women's Ballon d'Or

Regarding the women's award, the spotlight is on players from FC Barcelona and Arsenal. The champions of the national treble have six candidates, including the current Ballon d'Or winner, Aitana Bonmatí, and names like: 

  1. Caroline Graham Hansen
  2. Patri Guijarro
  3. Claudia Pina
  4. Ewa Pajor
  5. Alexia Putellas

Meanwhile, the Gunners, the brand new winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Women’s Champions League, dominate with seven representatives.

The complete list of the 30 nominees for the 2025 Women's Ballon d'Or:

  1. Lucy Bronze (Chelsea/England)
  2. Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride/Zambia)
  3. Aitana Bonmatí (FC Barcelona/Spain)
  4. Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea/France)
  5. Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal/Spain)
  6. Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
  7. Sofia Cantore (Juventus-Washington Spirit/Italy)
  8. Steph Catley (Arsenal/Australia)
  9. Melchie Dumornay (Olympique Lyon/France)
  10. Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City/Malawi)
  11. Emily Fox (Arsenal/USA)
  12. Cristiana Girelli (Juventus/Italy)
  13. Esther González (Gotham/Spain)
  14. Caroline Graham Hansen (FC Barcelona/Norway)
  15. Patri Guijarro (FC Barcelona/Spain)
  16. Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras/Brazil)
  17. Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
  18. Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich/Denmark)
  19. Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon/USA)
  20. Chloe Kelly (Arsenal/England)
  21. Marta (Orlando Pride/Brazil)
  22. Frida Maanum (Arsenal/Norway)
  23. Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona/Poland)
  24. Clara Mateo (Paris FC/France)
  25. Alessia Russo (Arsenal/England)
  26. Claudia Pina (FC Barcelona/Spain)
  27. Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona/Spain)
  28. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea/Sweden)
  29. Caroline Weir (Real Madrid/Scotland)
  30. Leah Williamson (Arsenal/England)

How is the winner of the 2025 Ballon d'Or chosen?

For the election of the winners, voters rely on three key criteria:

  1. Individual performance and decisive impact
  2. Collective titles and performance with the team
  3. Fair play and class on and off the field

In the men's category, 180 sports journalists vote, who assign points to their candidates (6, 4, 3, 2, and 1 respectively). For the Women's Ballon d'Or, the format is similar, although with a jury composed of 50 journalists specializing in women's football.