PSG or Barcelona - Who takes home 2025 Ballon d'Or?
Photo: The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual award in football (Getty Images)
Today, September 22, the winner of the most prestigious individual award in football—the Ballon d'Or from France Football—will be announced. Here are the main contenders and the history of the prize.
Who are the favorites for the 2025 award
The main contender for the prize is considered to be PSG's French winger Ousmane Dembélé. This season, with his team, he won the Champions League, where he was named player of the season, all French domestic titles, and also reached the final of the Club World Cup.
Most experts do not doubt the Frenchman's triumph, but some predict success for one of Barcelona's players: Spain's Lamine Yamal or Brazil's Raphinha.
Representatives of the Catalan club are seen as brighter individual talents, but the lack of major team success this season could be an obstacle. Barcelona had a strong campaign in Spain, winning the league, the Cup, and the Super Cup. However, on the international stage, they failed to go beyond the Champions League semifinals, allowing Inter Milan to reach the final.
Ballon d'Or records
If Dembélé wins, it will be only the second Ballon d'Or for a PSG player. If the award goes to Yamal or Raphinha, it would be Barcelona's 13th.
The last player from both clubs to win the Ballon d'Or was the same person. It was Lionel Messi. He received the prize in 2021 as a PSG player, and before that, he had won it six times with Barcelona.
Messi, with eight trophies, is the undisputed record holder. He is three wins ahead of his main rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lionel Messi has collected the largest Ballon d'Or haul (photo: Getty Images)
Ballon d'Or record holders:
- Lionel Messi – 8
- Cristiano Ronaldo – 5
- Johan Cruyff – 3
- Michel Platini – 3
- Marco van Basten – 3
When it comes to clubs, Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona share the lead with 12 victories each.
Barcelona's 12 include six from Messi. Other winners were Cruyff (twice), Luis Suárez, Hristo Stoichkov, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho.
Real Madrid has a wider range of winners, including Cristiano Ronaldo (4), Alfredo Di Stéfano (2), Raymond Kopa, Luís Figo, Ronaldo, Fabio Cannavaro, Luka Modrić, and Karim Benzema.
Ballon d'Or winners by club:
- Real Madrid – 12 (8 players)
- Barcelona – 12 (6)
- Juventus – 8 (6)
- Milan – 8 (6)
- Bayern – 5 (3)
If successful, Dembélé would become the sixth Frenchman to win the award. Previous winners were Michel Platini (three times), Raymond Kopa, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane, and Karim Benzema.
Meanwhile, Raphinha could become the fifth Brazilian on the list after Ronaldo (two prizes), Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaká.
Yamal could become the fourth Spaniard. His compatriots who have won are Alfredo Di Stéfano (twice), Luis Suárez, and Rodri last year.
Ballon d'Or winners by country:
- Argentina – 8 (1 player)
- France – 7 (5)
- Germany – 7 (5)
- Netherlands – 7 (3)
- Portugal – 7 (3)
Andrii Shevchenko, Oleg Blokhin, and Ihor Belanov won the prize for Ukraine (photo: Wikipedia)
Ukraine's victories
Ukrainian players have won the prestigious prize three times.
Oleg Blokhin (1975) and Ihor Belanov (1986) were recognized as the best while representing Dynamo Kyiv, and Andrii Shevchenko in 2004 as a Milan player.
Many Ukrainians have been among the nominees. Last year, Artem Dovbyk reached the top 30.
When to watch the ceremony
The award ceremony will take place on October 22 in the French capital. The event will be hosted at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The main part of the evening will begin at 9:00 PM Kyiv time. The ceremony will be presented by Dutch football legend and 1987 Ballon d'Or winner Ruud Gullit, along with British sports journalist Kate Scott.
Earlier, we reported the conflict between the Ballon d'Or organizers and Real Madrid.
