The French forward is favourite to beat the young Spanish, while Spain is likely to dominate the women’s category again.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele is tipped to hold off Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal and win the men’s Ballon d’Or football prize, while Spain’s Aitana Bonmati could win a third consecutive women’s prize.
Here’s what you need to know about the Ballon d’Or 2025:
The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious individual prize in football, presented in recognition of outstanding achievements and exceptional talent.
It has been presented annually by France Football since 1956.
The glitzy award ceremony – often considered the Oscars of football – is scheduled for a Monday start at 19:00 GMT.
The ceremony will be held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France.
France’s 28-year-old Dembele has emerged as the top favourite from a list of nominees dominated by Champions League winners PSG.
Nine members of the PSG team that won the European crown for the first time in a 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan feature among the 30 nominees.
Yamal, still just 18, stands out among the other nominees, having emerged as a superstar on the wing at Barcelona, where he is seen as the successor to legendary Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi.
Other notable nominees include Viktor Gyokeres, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, and the key duo from Liverpool’s 2024-25 Premier League triumph, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior are on the list too, a year after Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony, outraged that the latter had been overlooked for the prize.
Dembele appears to have the edge after a magnificent season in which he filled the void left in Paris by the departed Kylian Mbappe, scoring 35 goals.
That contribution helped PSG to complete a domestic clean sweep and also reach the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.
It was a spectacular campaign for the French club and an even more extraordinary one for Dembele, the winger turned centre-forward.
Many of the PSG nominees will have to miss the ceremony after their Ligue 1 match against Marseille was postponed on Sunday by 24 hours due to storms in southern France. Though Dembele is injured, he could attend.
Meanwhile, Yamal won the Kopa Trophy for the best player aged below 21 at last year’s Ballon d’Or gala, fresh from having helped Spain to European Championship glory.
He scored 18 goals in 55 games in all competitions last season as Barcelona won La Liga and the Spanish Copa del Rey, but they lost in the Champions League semifinal to Inter.
“It is nice after what was a wonderful season with PSG,” Dembele told Le Monde when asked what it meant to be a leading contender for the prize.
“I think it’s true that I am one of the favourites, but we will see what happens.”
“I don’t dream of winning one Ballon d’Or, I dream of winning lots,” Yamal said recently.
The award is voted for on the basis of achievements during the last season, rather than over a calendar year as in the past. A panel of journalists, one from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA world rankings, cast their votes for the winner.
Each juror selects 10 players in descending order of merit from the list of 30 nominees. The 10 selected players are awarded 15, 12, 10, eight, seven, five, four, three, two, and one point, respectively.
Barcelona and Spain star Bonmati will aim for a treble in the women’s category.
Bonmati, 27, is an exceptional talent and was named player of the tournament at the UEFA Women’s Euro in July.
Yet Spain lost the final of that tournament to England on penalties, and Barcelona also lost the Champions League final to Arsenal in May.
What may work either in her favour, or that of teammate and two-time former winner Alexia Putellas, is that there is no obvious standout from the England team that triumphed at the Euros.
Lucy Bronze, goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, Alessia Russo and captain Leah Williamson are all nominated from that side, as is Chloe Kelly, who scored the decisive penalty in the final.
The award was dominated for long by Messi, who is a record eight-time winner, and Cristiano Ronaldo. That duo won the Ballon d’Or 13 times between them from 2008 to 2023.
Messi won the last of his eight awards in 2023, while five-time winner Ronaldo’s last Ballon d’Or came in 2017.
