{"id":160466,"date":"2025-09-22T06:41:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T06:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/160466\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T06:41:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T06:41:13","slug":"ballon-dor-2025-main-contenders-for-mens-and-womens-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/160466\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballon d’Or 2025: Main contenders for men’s and women’s awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Media caption, <\/p>\n

Who decides the winner of the Ballon d’Or?<\/p>\n

ByMichael Emons,\u00a0BBC Sport journalist\u00a0and\u00a0Adam Millington,\u00a0BBC Sport journalist<\/p>\n

The world’s best male and female players will be crowned on Monday.<\/p>\n

The winners of the two Ballon d’Or awards – for their performances last season – will be announced at a ceremony at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.<\/p>\n

But which of the 30 nominees that were announced last month are most likely to win? <\/p>\n

We have analysed how six of the key contenders for each prize performed last season, using statistics from 2024-25 – across all club competitions for the men and all league matches for the women.<\/p>\n

You can also have your say and vote for who you think will top the class of 2025.<\/p>\n

Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain)<\/p>\n

\"OusmaneImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Ousmane Dembele has thrived in two seasons at Paris St-Germain after six years at Barcelona<\/p>\n

Games played: 53 Minutes played: 3,483 Goals: 35 Assists: 14 Goal contributions: 49 Minutes per goal: 99.5 Minutes per goal contribution: 71.1<\/p>\n

Ousmane Dembele played a key role in helping Paris St-Germain win Ligue 1, become European champions for the first time and reach the final of the Club World Cup.<\/p>\n

He scored 21 goals from 29 games in Ligue 1 to end the campaign as joint-top scorer. He was also named in the division’s team of the season and won the player of the year award.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old was also the Champions League’s player of the season after eight goals and six assists in the tournament, including two assists in the 5-0 final win against Inter Milan.<\/p>\n

Dembele then scored in the Club World Cup quarter-final and semi-final victories over Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively.<\/p>\n

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)<\/p>\n

\"HarryImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Harry Kane has scored 85 goals in 96 games for Bayern Munich since his \u00a386m move from Tottenham in August 2023<\/p>\n

Games played: 51 Minutes played: 3,955 Goals: 41 Assists: 12 Goal contributions: 53 Minutes per goal: 96.5 Minutes per goal contribution: 74.6<\/p>\n

England’s record goalscorer claimed the first major trophy of his career when he inspired Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old netted 26 league goals to top the Bundesliga scoring charts, including three hat-tricks.<\/p>\n

In September, he scored 10 goals in 11 days, starting with two for England against Finland in the Nations League on 10 September.<\/p>\n

He got three more in Bayern’s 6-1 league victory on Holsten Kiel three days later, scored four in Bayern’s 9-2 Champions League thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb on 17 September and one in his club’s 5-0 win at Werder Bremen on 21 September.<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)<\/p>\n

\"KylianImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Kylian Mbappe joined Real Madrid from Paris St-Germain on a free transfer when his contract with the Ligue 1 side expired<\/p>\n

Games played: 59 Minutes played: 4,742 Goals: 44 Assists: 5 Goal contributions: 49 Minutes per goal: 107.7 Minutes per goal contribution: 96.8<\/p>\n

The France forward ended his first season in Spain as the top goalscorer in La Liga, his tally of 31 goals being four better than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.<\/p>\n

Mbappe’s total came from 34 matches and included hat-tricks against Valladolid and Barcelona. He also scored a treble to eliminate Manchester City in the Champions League knockout play-off round.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old became only the third player to score 50 goals for France, a figure he reached in June when he helped his country finish third in the Nations League.<\/p>\n

Raphinha (Barcelona)<\/p>\n

\"Raphinha\"Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Raphinha joined Barcelona from Leeds United in a deal worth up to \u00a355m in July 2022<\/p>\n

Games played: 57 Minutes played: 4,661 Goals: 34 Assists: 22 Goal contributions: 56 Minutes per goal: 137.1 Minutes per goal contribution: 83.2<\/p>\n

Raphinha helped Barcelona win three trophies in 2024-25 – La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana.<\/p>\n

His 18 goals and nine assists earned him La Liga’s player of the season award.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old Brazil forward, who moved to Barcelona from Leeds United in 2022, also ended as the joint-top scorer in the Champions League, finding the net 13 times in 14 games including a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)<\/p>\n

\"MohamedImage source, ReutersImage caption, <\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah won the Premier League player of the season award again, having also done so in 2017-18<\/p>\n

Games played: 52 Minutes played: 4,497 Goals: 34 Assists: 23 Goal contributions: 57 Minutes per goal: 132.3 Minutes per goal contribution: 78.9<\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah played a huge role in helping Liverpool become English champions for a 20th time.<\/p>\n

His 29 goals and 18 assists gave him a total of 47 Premier League goal involvements, tying the record for the most in a 38-game season.<\/p>\n

His goals tally also secured him the Golden Boot – the fourth time he has won it, a record shared with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. The 33-year-old was also named the Premier League’s player of the year for a second time.<\/p>\n

The Egypt forward scored three times in the Champions League before Liverpool lost to eventual winners Paris St-Germain in the last 16.<\/p>\n

Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)<\/p>\n

\"LamineImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Lamine Yamal has already played 20 times for Spain at the age of 18<\/p>\n

Games played: 55 Minutes played: 4,548 Goals: 18 Assists: 21 Goal contributions: 39 Minutes per goal: 252.7 Minutes per goal contribution: 116.6<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old winger helped Barcelona to the Spanish treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana.<\/p>\n

He won La Liga’s player of the month award in September and was in the La Liga and Champions League teams of the season.<\/p>\n

He scored twice for Spain in their 5-4 win over France in the Nations League semi-final, although the side lost on penalties in the final to Portugal.<\/p>\n

Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona)<\/p>\n

\"AitanaImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Aitana Bonmati has won the past two Ballon d’Or awards<\/p>\n

Games played: 26 Minutes played: 1,913 Goals: 12 Assists: 6 Goal contributions: 18 Minutes per goal: 159 Minutes per goal contribution: 106<\/p>\n

One of two Barcelona and Spain players who could lift the Ballon d’Or for the third time, but the only one who could do it in three successive years.<\/p>\n

Aitana Bonmati is undeniably one of the world’s best players and it would not be a surprise if she won again – although missing out on two major accolades might not help her cause.<\/p>\n

There were doubts about her ability to play in the Euros when she was hospitalised with meningitis just days before it began, but she played a typically important role for Spain, including scoring the winner in their semi-final.<\/p>\n

She was not however the brightest light in the knockout stage as others stole the show and England won the final.<\/p>\n

Alessia Russo (Arsenal)<\/p>\n

\"AlessiaImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Alessia Russo was the 2024-25 Football Writers’ Association’s women’s player of the year<\/p>\n

Games played: 21 Minutes played: 1,686 Goals: 12 Assists: 2 Goal contributions: 14 Minutes per goal: 141 Minutes per goal contribution: 120<\/p>\n

Champions League winner and Euro 2025 winner… it has been quite a year for the Arsenal striker.<\/p>\n

She scored in the final of the Euros and found her groove for her club, playing a crucial role throughout the season in front of goal and with her work off the ball.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old was named the Football Writers’ Association’s women’s footballer of the year for last season for good reason.<\/p>\n

She was the Women’s Super League’s joint-top scorer, sharing the Golden Boot with Khadija Shaw.<\/p>\n

Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)<\/p>\n

\"AlexiaImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d’Or twice before<\/p>\n

Games played: 24 Minutes played: 1,620 Goals: 16 Assists: 11 Goal contributions: 27 Minutes per goal: 101 Minutes per goal contribution: 60<\/p>\n

Alexia Putellas is in the running for a third Ballon d’Or, and it’s clear why she is a strong contender even in a year that has not gone entirely to plan.<\/p>\n

Barcelona missed out on the Champions League and Spain were beaten by England in the Euro 2025 final, but Putellas has still performed at a very high standard.<\/p>\n

She provided 16 goals and 11 assists as Barcelona once again won Spain’s top flight and secured a domestic treble.<\/p>\n

Having already won it back-to-back in 2021 and 2022, she is a strong contender to do it again.<\/p>\n

Claudia Pina (Barcelona)<\/p>\n

\"ClaudiaImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Claudia Pina won a domestic treble with Barcelona in 2024-25<\/p>\n

Games played: 27 Minutes played: 1,557 Goals: 10 Assists: 7 Goal contributions: 17 Minutes per goal: 156 Minutes per goal contribution: 92<\/p>\n

She did not win the Champions League, but she was the competition’s top scorer. She netted 24 in total for her club and six for Spain.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old is a versatile player who is comfortable both as a midfielder and a forward.<\/p>\n

She regularly makes the difference for club and country and was missed by Spain in the Euros final. Pina is among the favourites for the award.<\/p>\n

Lucy Bronze (Chelsea)<\/p>\n

\"LucyImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Lucy Bronze was Ballon d’Or runner-up in 2019<\/p>\n

Games played: 19 Minutes played: 1,491 Goals: 2 Assists: 3 Goal contributions: 5 Minutes per goal: 746 Minutes per goal contribution: 298<\/p>\n

Lucy Bronze played through the pain of a fractured tibia as she won Euro 2025, on the back of clinching the Women’s Super League, FA Cup and League Cup.<\/p>\n

The full-back secured her fourth WSL title as part of a domestic treble in her first season with Chelsea.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old played the fourth-highest number of minutes for the Lionesses in the Euros despite her injury, and scored an emphatic penalty in the quarter-final against Sweden.<\/p>\n

A defender lifting the trophy is never as likely as a forward, but Bronze has had a spectacular year.<\/p>\n

Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal)<\/p>\n

\"MarionaImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n

Mariona Caldentey won the Champions League in her debut season with Arsenal<\/p>\n

Games played: 21 Minutes played: 1,774 Goals: 9 Assists: 5 Goal contributions: 14 Minutes per goal: 197 Minutes per goal contribution: 127<\/p>\n

Mariona Caldentey joined Arsenal last summer and helped deliver the biggest prize in the team’s history – the Champions League.<\/p>\n

She hit the ground running and added a creative nous and cutting edge to an already strong frontline.<\/p>\n

She performed so well since making the move from Barcelona that she was named the WSL’s player of the year.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard netted in the Euro 2025 final, albeit in a losing cause.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Media caption, Who decides the winner of the Ballon d’Or? ByMichael Emons,\u00a0BBC Sport journalist\u00a0and\u00a0Adam Millington,\u00a0BBC Sport journalist The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-160466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}