Ballon d'Or 2025: Full List of Nominees, Ceremony Date, Venue and Updates

The race for the Ballon d’Or 2025 is officially on, with fans waiting eagerly to find out who the nominees are this year, following an exciting year of action, both at the international level (including UEFA Euro 2024, Copa América, etc.) and at club level. We are blessed to have several elite talents to call on, with some of the standouts including Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Lamine Yamal.

 The Ballon d’Or has always been the game’s most prestigious individual award and recognizes the best player in the world. This article covers everything you need to know about the fresher, including the full list of nominees each year, the date of the award ceremony, and the latest updates. As we are now on the countdown to one of the biggest nights in football, it's time to start getting excited!

Check Out: FIFA World Cup 2026: Check Host Nations, Full Schedule, Fixtures and Teams

What is the Ballon d’Or?

The Ballon d'Or is one of the most sought-after individual prizes in football. The Ballon d'Or is given out every year by the French magazine France Football, and began in 1956! This prestigious award is awarded annually to the best male footballer in the world. The award is determined by performances with club and country in the previous season. 

Voters consist of international journalists who cast votes on the best player in the world, and factors of skill, achievements, influence on football, and overall impact will be taken into consideration when voting. 

Even in 2018, there was a Ballon d'Or Féminin for best female footballer in the world. Many famous footballers have won the Ballon d'Or, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Zinedine Zidane. In addition to the Ballon d'Or, the Kopa Trophy (best U21 player) and Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper) will be awarded to other players during the awards ceremony as well, making it a big deal for people in the football world.

Complete List of Male Nominees

Here is the complete list of nominees from all major leagues across the world like the English Premiere League, Ligue 1, Laliga and many more.  

Premier League (England)

• Liverpool: Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, Virgil van Dijk

• Chelsea: Cole Palmer

• Arsenal: Declan Rice

(Ligue 1, France)

• Ousmane Dembélé

• Gianluigi Donnarumma

• Désiré Doué

• Achraf Hakimi

• Fabián Ruiz (Spain)

• João Neves

• Nuno Mendes

• Vitinha

• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)

La Liga (Spain)

• Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)

• Pedri (Spain, Barcelona)

• Raphinha (Brazil, Barcelona)

• Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Barcelona)

• Vinícius Júnior (Brazil, Real Madrid)

• Kylian Mbappé (France, Real Madrid)

Bundesliga (Germany) & Other Leagues

• Florian Wirtz (Germany, Bayer Leverkusen / now Liverpool)

• Scott McTominay (Scotland, now Napoli in Serie A)

• Erling Haaland (Norway- Manchester City, Premier League)

• Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina, Liverpool – Premier League)

• Viktor Gyökeres (Sweden, Sporting Lisbon / Arsenal - EPL exposure)

• Serhou Guirassy (Guinea, Borussia Dortmund - Bundesliga)

Date and Venue: Ballon d’Or 2025

The Ballon d’Or 2025 ceremony will take place on Monday, September 22, 2025, at the iconic Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The ceremony is one of the biggest nights of the football calendar, rewarding and recognizing the best players in the world for the previous season.

 This year's ceremony is taking place earlier than normal, providing football lovers with a marquee event to look forward to in mid-September while a new season starts to grow. The Ballon d'Or list was released on August 7, 2025, giving time for fans and media to think about possible nominees ahead of the ceremony.

 As well as the men's and women's Ballon d'Or , other prizes such as the Kopa Trophy for best young player and the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper will also be awarded. The ceremony attracts worldwide attention, and usually has many elite players attending, as well as several members of the media and fans as well from across the world tuned into the event.

Who Won Ballon d'Or 2024?

In the 2024 Ballon d'Or, Spain had a speaker's corner taking both men's and women's awards. In the men's category, Manchester City frontman Rodri was honored with a Ballon d'Or for his exceptional season leading Manchester City to both a Premier League trophy and Spain to EURO 2024 glory. Rodri's victory was historic too, as he became the first Spaniard to win this award since 1960. This even brought some controversy, as Real Madrid boycotted the show because Vinícius Júnior was the runner-up. In women's Ballon d'Or news, Aitana Bonmatí of Barcelona became the winner for the second time, again marking her as one of the top players in the world after another incredible year for both club and country.