Key events
Ewa Pajor and Viktor Gyökeres are recognised as the Golden Boot winners in the women’s and male game, respectively. This was one award where we already knew the outcome.
Pajor scored 25 goals last season for Barcelona, while Gyökeres netted 54 goals in all competitions for Sporting – 39 goals in 33 league games.
There is a brief pause while video tributes are paid to the late Denis Law and Diogo Jota, as well as the latter’s brother, André Silva. All three lost their lives in the past year, of course.
Gianluigi Donnarumma wins the male Yashin trophy!
It’s quite something that the goalkeeper that has just been voted the best in the world was dropped and sold so mercilessly by PSG just a few weeks ago. The Italian was outstanding in the French club’s league and European titles last season and has started his time in the Premier League brilliantly. Donnarumma thanks his new club, Manchester City. In the audience, PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
England’s Hannah Hampton wins the Yashin Trophy!
Thank you to France Football for this award. It’s an achievement for women’s football, not just me. I’d like to thank my family, my brother, for driving me around when I was little. The women’s game lost Matt Beard on Saturday. He lit up the room whenever he was with it. Sometimes the brightest smiles hide the biggest pain. And thank you Grandpa! I love you, and we did it!
Next up we have the Yashin Trophy for the best male and female goalkeepers. The female award is a new category and both Mary Earps and Gianluigi Buffon come to the stage make their feelings known. “It’s better late than never,” says Buffon. “It’s time to stop making a difference between men and women and in all areas. Not just sports.”
Luis Enrique wins the Johan Cruyff Trophy!
The PSG manager is not present, as he’s currently in south of France, watching his side lose to Marseille 1-0 in Ligue 1. But he has sent a video message:
“Thank you to my family, thank you to PSG. I also want to thank two special people: Nasser Al-Khelaifi [PSG chairman] and Luís Campos [PSG sporting director]. We have a special relationship. A message to my players who are there: it’s nice to win individual awards but I think the most important thing is the recognition of the fans.”
Here are the male nominees for the Johan Cruyff Trophy, the best manager.
Antonio Conte (Italy, Napoli)
Luis Enrique (Spain, Paris Saint-Germain)
Hansi Flick (Germany, Barcelona)
Enzo Maresca (Italy, Chelsea)
Arne Slot (Netherlands, Liverpool)
Sarina Wiegman wins the Johan Cruyff Trophy!
The England manager comes to the stage:
What an honour. A very special summer, an insane tournament in Switzerland. I want to thank the players, staff, FA and my family for my unconditional support. The women’s game has grown and we’ve broken records. With that growth comes responsibility. We have to keep our identity. Be authentic, be inclusive. We have to fight against misogyny, against racism. Let’s keep uniting and enjoy our beautiful game and if Burna Boy’s around, maybe a bit of dancing too.
Burna Boy is Wiegman’s favourite artist and joined England’s celebrations in London following their Euros triumph.
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Next up, the award for the best manager: the Johan Cruyff Trophy. The women’s nominees are:
Sonia Bompastor (France, Chelsea)
Arthur Elias (Brazil, Brazil national team)
Justine Madugu (Nigeria, Nigeria national team)
Renée Slegers (Netherlands, Arsenal)
Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands, England national team)
Vicky López wins the women’s Kopa Trophy!
López is another Barcelona teenager who has already been around for years – the youngest ever player to play in the Women’s Champions League and youngest player to debut for the Spanish national team. She is currently studying for a business administration and management university degree. What a player, 10 goals in 25 league games last season for Barcelona and she has started this campaign like a train: three goals in four games.
Here come the gals. Here are the five nominees for the Women’s Kopa Trophy.
Michelle Agyemang (England, Brighton/Arsenal)
Linda Caicedo (Colombia, Real Madrid)
Wieke Kaptein (Netherlands, Chelsea)
Vicky López (Spain, Barcelona)
Claudia Martínez Ovando (Paraguay, Club Olimpia)
Lamine Yamal wins the men’s Kopa Trophy!
Of course he does, collecting the trophy he also won last year. Lamine Yamal is still just 18 years old, so he could feasibly win this award five times.
The first award is for the men’s Kopa Trophy 2025, for the best player under the age of 21. Here are the nominees. I think we all know who is going to win this one, surely.
Désiré Doué (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
Estêvão (Brazil, Palmeiras/Chelsea)
João Neves (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain)
Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
Kenan Yildiz (Türkiye, Juventus)
The ceremony is underway in Paris! There is an opening performance by Canadian musician Charlotte Cardin – who hits the metrics of being North American and French speaking – for which there is a lukewarm reception.
Here come the evening’s hosts, Ruud Gullit and British broadcaster Kate Scott. Gullit welcomes some former winners and mis-pronounces Hristo Stoichkov name, for which the Bulgarian gives the Dutchman a glare. Eeeeesh.
“One handy way to judge players’ quality is to see how good their teams are without them,” emails Kári Tulinius. “PSG are currently 1-0 down at half-time against Marseille in Le Classique, but it’s been an open and fun game that could be 3-0 or 1-4. There have been more than a couple of chances which you’d feel Dembélé would’ve converted. Or Doué, for that matter”.
How is the Ballon d’Or decided?
The Ballon d’Or is awarded by an international jury of specialised journalists, with one representative per country, from the top 100 in the latest Fifa rankings (before the lists are published) for men and the top 50 for women.
Each juror selects ten players in descending order of merit from a list of 30 established by the editorial staff of France Football, members of the editorial staff of L’Équipe, the best juror from the previous edition – Costa Rica for the men’s Ballon d’Or, South Africa for the women’s Ballon d’Or – and Uefa ambassadors Luís Figo for the men’s trophy and Nadine Kessler for the women’s trophy.
The 10 selected players are awarded 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point respectively. The Ballon d’Or is awarded to the player with the highest number of points.
In case of a tie, the players are separated by the number of first-place votes. If the tie remains, they are separated by the number of second-place votes, then by the number of third-place votes, and so on. Any dispute arising from the voting is decided by the editor-in-chief of France Football as the organiser.
Credit: Uefa website.
“When will an American ever win the men’s Ballon d’Or?” asks Kurt Perleberg, via email.
I can’t see any of the current crop challenging for the male award in the coming years. So we have to look to the future: a lot of thought of Cavan Sullivan, who signed a record MLS deal last summer at the age of 14 that includes a move to Manchester City when he turns 18. But Sullivan has an awful long way to go before he even breaks into the City team, never mind become the greatest player in the world.
Interesting that the women’s top 10 is comprised of players from just three clubs: Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea. It will be interesting to see if England’s triumph at Euro 2025 will swing the award for an Arsenal or Chelsea player, given the Gunners won the Champions League and the Blues a domestic treble. If one of Aitana Bonmatí, Patri Guijarro, Ewa Pajor or Alexia Putellas do not win the female award, it will be the first time a Barcelona player has not won the women’s Ballon d’Or since Megan Rapinoe in 2019.
PSG have a better excuse, given their Ligue 1 match against Marseille – Le Classique – was rearranged for this evening, following the match’s postponement on Saturday. Ligue 1 confirmed the news after a major storm hit the south of France.
That said, Ousmane Dembélé and Désire Doué will still be in attendance as they are injured and not available to face Marseille. That’s handy for Dembélé in particular, given he is the favourite to win the main male award.
Finally, at 28, Dembélé is fulfilling his promise and filling his mantelpiece with shiny trinkets in the process. Dembélé’s career was on the slide when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2023, but back in France he has looked more comfortable. Luis Enrique, a former Barcelona manager, is getting the best out of him, even after dropping the France international for disciplinary reasons in October. His pace and skill have traumatised defenders alongside that of Désiré Doué – this year’s vote might come too early for the talented teenager – across the continent and helped PSG secure a historic first Champions League triumph to complete the treble. Dembélé makes beating defenders look easy, scoring 21 goals in 29 Ligue 1 appearances in the process.
I should mention some notable absentees. Real Madrid are not coming at all for the second straight year. You might remember the context for their no-show in 2024 … which was as petulant as it was embarrassing.
In fairness, Madrid do have a La Liga game on Tuesday night at Levante to prepare for, but there was an obvious coldness in Xabi Alonso’s words in the pre-match press conference when he was asked if any Real Madrid delegation would be in attendance tonight.
“We have many points at stake and all the matches are important. I am not thinking about it [Ballon d’Or]. I am just focused on Levante,” said Alonso on Monday. “It’s not my topic. I don’t have to vote – we’ll see who wins after the gala. I haven’t thought about it too much.”
A reminder that Kylian Mbappé is the only representative from Real Madrid in either the male/female lists.
We go now to the red carpet, where there is the usual mix of superstar footballers, partners, ageing legends of the game and a weird and unwelcome mix of influencers and musicians. Here are a few snippets.
Already, there is quite a lot of digest. Harry Kane can probably count himself a little unlucky to be outside the top 10 given he scored 41 goals and provided 14 assists (55 GA) in just 51 games. It’s not easy to quantify just how big an impact João Neves had for PSG in midfield – scuttling interceptions don’t count for much in this ceremony – but I’m not sure PSG would have won the Champions League without him. Sandy Baltimore was sensational for Chelsea after signing last summer, she is another that is unfortunate not to make the top 10 after helping the Blues to a domestic treble.
Men’s official rankings: 30-11
11. Pedri (Barcelona & Spain)
12. Khvicha Kvaratshkelia (Napoli/PSG & Georgia)
13. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich & England)
14. Désire Doué (PSG & France)
15. Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting/Arsenal & Sweden)
16. Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid & Brazil)
17. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
18. Scott McTominay (Napoli & Scotland)
19. João Neves (PSG & Portugal)
20. Lautaro Martínez (Inter & Argentina)
21. Serhou Guirassy (Dortmund & Guinea)
22. Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool & Argentina)
23. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid & England)
24. Fabian Ruiz (PSG & Spain)
25. Denzel Dumfries (Inter & Netherlands)
26. Erling Haaland (Manchester City & Norway)
27. Declan Rice (Arsenal & England)
28. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands)
29. Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen/Liverpool & Germany)
30. Michael Olise (Bayern Munich & France)
Female official rankings: 30-11
In total, 30 players in both the women’s and the men’s game have been nominated and all but the top 10 in both categories have just been announced.
11. Claudia Pina (Barcelona, Spain)
12. Marta (Orlando Pride, Brazil)
13. Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona, Norway)
14. Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride, Zambia)
15. Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea, France)
16. Cristiana Girelli (Juventus, Italy)
17. Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City, Malawi)
18. Melchie Dumornay (Lyon, Haiti)
19. Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich, Germany)
20. Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich, Denmark)
21. Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras, Brazil)
22. Esther Gonzalez (Gotham FC, Spain)
23. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea, Sweden)
24. Sofia Cantore (Juventus/Washington Spirit, Italy)
25. Emily Fox (Arsenal, United States)
26. Lindsey Horan Heaps (Lyon, United States)
27. Clara Mateo (Paris FC, France)
28. Frida Maanum (Arsenal, Norway)
29. Steph Catley (Arsenal, Australia)
30. Caroline Weir (Real Madrid, Scotland)
Preamble
Officially, the winners of the Ballon d’Or are based upon three main criteria:
1. Individual performances, decisive and impressive character.
2. Team performances and achievements
3. Class and fair play.
In a game that is increasingly decided by automatic offsides and VAR, and narratives and analysis based upon data and xG, the criteria to win the Ballon d’Or is clearly a series of subjective choices made by a relatively small group of people, each with their own biases.
I think we can all agree this is an imperfect, silly and relatively entertaining exercise is ranking things, akin to deciding what your top three cheeses (Comté, manchego, burrata) are. Sure, there are some obvious candidates, but ultimately it just comes down to personal preference. Not everyone thinks a Ligue 1 title (brie), Euro 2025 triumph (posh cheddar) or a goals/assist record (Roquefort) is the deciding factor. But some do, and that’s fine.
As long as we don’t take it all too seriously – Real Madrid, we’re looking at you – I think we might just survive the evening.
The men’s nominees for the main prize:
Ousmane Dembélé (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy, Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester City)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, Paris Saint-Germain)
Kylian Mbappé (France, Real Madrid)
Nuno Mendes (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain)
Cole Palmer (England, Chelsea)
Raphinha (Brazil, Barcelona)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)
Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain)
Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
The women’s nominees for the main prize:
Aitana Bonmatí (Spain, Barcelona)
Lucy Bronze (England, Chelsea)
Mariona Caldentey (Spain, Arsenal)
Patri Guijarro (Spain, Barcelona)
Hannah Hampton (England, Chelsea)
Chloe Kelly (England, Arsenal)
Ewa Pajor (Poland, Barcelona)
Alexia Putellas (Spain, Barcelona)
Alessia Russo (England, Arsenal)
Leah Williamson (England, Arsenal)
Please do get in touch via email – michael.butler@theguardian.com – with your predictions, thoughts, complaints, favourite cheeses and anything else besides.
From how the votes are decided to who is (and who isn’t) turning up to tonight’s red carpet, there is plenty to unpack before the start of the ceremony at 8pm BST (9pm in Paris).
