With the 2024/25 European football season complete, excitement is beginning to build as the selection of the 2025 Ballon d’Or winners draws closer.
We are near now to finding out who France Football will crown as the winner of the world’s most coveted individual football prize.
Each year, the Ballon d’Or is given to the best male and female players in the sport — a subjective task left to the collective voters to determine.
However, before the winner can be chosen, a shortlist must be drafted. Thirty players are set to be named by the Ballon d’Or organisers, France Football, from which the winner will be chosen.
The Sporting News details who has been named among the 30 best football players around the world across the most recent season, with the eventual Ballon d’Or winner hidden somewhere in the mix.
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Ballon d’Or 2025 nominees list
France Football is set to release their nominees for both the men’s and women’s 2025 Ballon d’Or award. This shortlist will be unveiled on Thursday, August 7 from 3 p.m. CET (9 a.m. ET).
From there, Ballon d’Or voters will choose from the 30-player list to select who they believe should win the award, with the presentation of the trophy to take place on September 22.
The following is a predicted list of players on both the men’s and women’s side who should and could be included on the shortlist based solely on their 2024/25 performances. The final shortlist will be added below once the names have been confirmed.
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Predicted 30-player shortlist for 2025 men’s Ballon d’Or
Frontrunners for 2025 Ballon d’Or
The following six players are considered the top contenders to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or and are therefore a virtual lock to be amongst the nominees.
| Player | Pos | Nationality | Club (Nation) | Age |
| Ousmane Dembele | FWD | France | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 28 |
| Lamine Yamal | FWD | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 18 |
| Kylian Mbappe | FWD | France | Real Madrid (ESP) | 26 |
| Raphinha | FWD | Brazil | Barcelona (ESP) | 28 |
| Mohamed Salah | FWD | Egypt | Liverpool (ENG) | 33 |
| Vitinha | CM | Portugal | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 25 |
Likely to be included
The following six players are not considered contenders to win the Ballon d’Or, but are generally thought of as worthy of consideration amongst the best players from the 2025/26 season. While they will not near the top of the final list, exclusion from the 30-player shortlist would be a significant and disrespectful oversight.
| Player | Pos | Nationality | Club (Nation) | Age |
| Julian Alvarez | FWD | Argentina | Atletico Madrid (ESP) | 25 |
| Jude Bellingham | CM | England | Real Madrid (ESP) | 22 |
| Gianluigi Donnarumma | GK | Italy | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 26 |
| Achraf Hakimi | RB | Morocco | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 26 |
| Harry Kane | FWD | England | Bayern Munich (GER) | 32 |
| Robert Lewandowski | FWD | Poland | Barcelona (ESP) | 36 |
Potential inclusion
The following players have good reason to be named amongst the 30-player shortlist but enough missing from their resume that their absence would not be a significant surprise.
| Player | Pos | Nationality | Club (Nation) | Age |
| Alessandro Bastoni | CB | Italy | Inter Milan (ITA) | 26 |
| Gabriel | CB | Brazil | Arsenal (ENG) | 27 |
| Serhou Guirassy | FWD | Guinea | Borussia Dortmund (GER) | 29 |
| Viktor Gyokeres | FWD | Sweden | Sporting CP (POR) | 27 |
| Erling Haaland | FWD | Norway | Manchester City (ENG) | 25 |
| Alexander Isak | FWD | Sweden | Newcastle United (ENG) | 25 |
| Ademola Lookman | FWD | Nigeria | Atalanta (ITA) | 27 |
| Scott McTominay | CM | England | Napoli (ITA) | 28 |
| Jamal Musiala | ACM | Germany | Bayern Munich (GER) | 22 |
| Joao Neves | CM | Portugal | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 20 |
| Michael Olise | FWD | France | Bayern Munich (GER) | 23 |
| Cole Palmer | ACM | England | Chelsea (ENG) | 23 |
| Pedri | CM | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 22 |
| Mateo Retegui | FWD | Italy | Atalanta (ITA) | 26 |
| Declan Rice | CM | England | Liverpool (ENG) | 26 |
| Bukayo Saka | FWD | England | Arsenal (ENG) | 23 |
| Virgil van Dijk | CB | Netherlands | Liverpool (ENG) | 34 |
| Vinicius Jr. | FWD | Brazil | Real Madrid (ESP) | 25 |
| Florian Wirtz | ACM | Germany | Bayer Leverkusen (GER) | 22 |
MORE: All-time list of Ballon d’Or winners: Who has won the most? | Which club has the most Ballon d’Or winners?
30-player shortlist for 2025 women’s Ballon d’Or
Frontrunners for 2025 Ballon d’Or Feminin
The following players are considered frontrunners for the women’s Ballon d’Or in 2025 and are therefore virtual locks to be amongst the 30 nominees.
| Player | Pos | Nationality | Club (Nation) | Age |
| Sandy Baltimore | FWD | France | Chelsea (ENG) | 25 |
| Barbara Banda | FWD | Zambia | Orlando Pride (USA) | 25 |
| Aitana Bonmati | FWD | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 27 |
| Lucy Bronze | RB | England | Chelsea (ENG) | 33 |
| Mariona Caldentey | ACM | Spain | Arsenal (ENG) | 29 |
| Patri Guijarro | CM | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 27 |
| Caroline Graham Hansen | FWD | Norway | Barcelona (ESP) | 30 |
| Chloe Kelly | FWD | England | Arsenal (ENG) | 27 |
| Claudia Pina | FWD | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 23 |
| Alexia Putellas | CM | Spain | Barcelona (ESP) | 31 |
| Alessia Russo | FWD | England | Arsenal (ENG) | 26 |
