The rankings for the 2025 Ballon d’Or have started to be released.
Ousmane Dembele is favourite to win the award for the first time, having played a leading role in Paris Saint-Germain’s first Champions League title.
The Frenchman’s main rival appears to be Lamine Yamal, with the 18-year-old enjoying a breakout season as Barcelona impressed domestically and in Europe.
Mohamed Salah is also expected to do well in the voting, but he is unlikely to become the first Premier League winner since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.
Michael Olise came 30th in his first time making the final shortlist for the award, while Liverpool duo Florian Wirtz and Virgil van Dijk follow him in the voting.
By his lofty standards it was a quiet season for Erling Haaland, even if he did still manage 34 goals in all competitions. Manchester City’s struggles in the Premier League and Champions League mean the striker has to settle for 26th in the Ballon d’Or race this year.
Jude Bellingham and Alexis Mac Allister both finished just outside the top 20, as did Fabian Ruiz despite winning the Champions League with PSG.
In his first time making the 30-man shortlist, Scott McTominay came 18th in the voting. That was two places behind Vinicius Jr, who narrowly missed out on winning the Ballon d’Or last year to Rodri.
Harry Kane once again scored more than 40 goals for Bayern Munich last season, but his efforts were only enough for 13th.
The top ten will be announced later this evening at a ceremony in Paris.
Ballon d’Or 2025 rankings in full:
22nd: Alexis Mac Allister
12th: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
