Kylian Mbappe, Aitana Bonmati Headline 2025 Men's, Women's Ballon d'Or Nominees
France Football announced Thursday the nominees for this year's Ballon d'Or in men's and women's world football.
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembélé and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal are the headliners on the men's side:
Barcelona is also well represented in the list of women's finalists as Aitana Bonmatí tries to make it three wins in a row:
The winner of both awards will be announced at a ceremony on September 22.
The stars of Barça's men's team could wind up splitting votes as journalists rank the strongest contributors to a 2024-25 season that culminated in a La Liga title and included a Copa del Rey triumph and a semifinal run in the Champions League.
Yamal is one of the brightest young talents in the sport, but Raphinha had the stronger individual campaign. He had 27 total goal contributions in La Liga and another 13 goals and eight assists in the Champions League.
Should Yamal and Raphinha eat into one another's voting shares, it will be a boost to Dembélé and Salah.
Because of PSG's domestic dominance, Dembélé's Ballon d'Or résumé is predicated largely on the club winning the European title it has coveted ever since Qatar Sports Investments came aboard as owners in 2011.
Dembélé had eight goals and six assists in the Champions League, and two of the latter came in the 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the final.
Salah, meanwhile, had his most prolific Premier League season last year. He led England's top division in both goals (29) and assists (18). The 33-year-old's performance did taper off a bit toward the end, though, and Liverpool's round-of-16 exit in the UCL won't help his Ballon d'or odds.
Between Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas, a Barcelona player has received the Ballon d'Or Féminin for four straight years. That run might finally come to an end.
Barça Femení lifted another Liga F title, winning 28 of their 30 matches and finishing eight points clear of Real Madrid. They also advanced to the final of the Women's Champions League.
Bonmatí and Putellas also received a runner-up medal at the Women's Euro 2025.
Despite all of that success, Alessia Russo may have the inside track on the Ballon d'Or.
The Arsenal star had seven goals and one assist in 11 UCL appearances as the Gunners were European champions for a second time. In addition, she scored the equalizer in the Women's Euro final, with England going on to win in a penalty shootout and retain its crown.
Russo was named to the team of the tournament.
Should the 26-year-old go on to receive the Ballon d'Or, she'd be the first English woman to win and just the fifth all time from her country. England hasn't claimed a winner since Michael Owen in 2001.
