The stage is about in Paris because the world prepares to find who shall be topped one of the best participant on the planet. On Monday, the Theatre du Chatelet will welcome the game’s greatest stars for the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
This yr’s race has been one of the vital hotly contested in latest reminiscence. With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now not dominating the dialog, the sphere feels extensive open — although two names have emerged as clear favorites. Will or not it’s Barcelona’s teenage phenomenon, Lamine Yamal, or PSG’s treble-winning talisman, Ousmane Dembele, who takes dwelling the golden ball?
The Ballon d’Or, awarded yearly by France Soccer, is broadly considered probably the most prestigious particular person honor in soccer. The voting interval for this yr’s version lined matches performed between August 2024 and July 2025, together with the Membership World Cup.
Performances over that point had been extraordinary: Mohamed Salah led Europe in purpose contributions, Kylian Mbappe was the continent’s high scorer, and Lamine Yamal and Raphinha dazzled in Barcelona’s La Liga-winning marketing campaign. However this yr, all eyes are on two gamers who outlined the 2024-25 season — one in Catalonia, one in Paris.
The contenders
Right here is an up to date take a look at TNT Sports activities’ ultimate Ballon d’Or Energy Rankings:
| Energy Rank | Participant | Membership |
| 10. | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Manchester Metropolis |
| 9. | Cole Palmer | Chelsea |
| 8. | Kylian Mbappe | Actual Madrid |
| 7. | Nuno Mendes | PSG |
| 6. | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool |
| 5. | Achraf Hakimi | PSG |
| 4. | Raphinha | Barcelona |
| 3. | Vitinha | PSG |
| 2. | Lamine Yamal | Barcelona |
| 1. | Ousmane Dembele | PSG |
Dembele’s season of future vs. Yamal’s historic rise
The revelation of the rankings confirmed what many suspected — Ousmane Dembele has claimed the highest spot. The PSG ahead delivered the season of his life, scoring 35 targets and offering 16 assists throughout all competitions because the French giants accomplished a historic treble, together with their first-ever UEFA Champions League title.
It was not simply the numbers that impressed voters however his transformation below Luis Enrique, who used him as a hybrid No. 9. For the primary time since his Rennes breakthrough season, Dembele hit double digits in league targets — ending with 21 in Ligue 1 alone.
If there’s a participant who might have denied Dembele, it was Lamine Yamal. At simply 18 years previous, the Barcelona prodigy produced a marketing campaign for the ages: 18 targets, 21 assists, and a Champions League semi-final masterclass in opposition to Inter. Yamal’s performances have many believing that it’s a matter of when, not if, he wins the Ballon d’Or.
