The evening of the 2025 Ballon d'Or awards takes place tonight in Paris as the world's best men's and women's footballers are set to be awarded.
For the men, Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé is the favourite with the bookmakers ahead of Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal. The female nominees are Spain's Mariona Caldentey, Alexia Putellas, and winner of last year's award, Aitana BonmatÃ.
Dembélé, 28, enjoyed a career-high season, providing 43 goal contributions in 44 games as PSG secured the treble for the first time ever — Ligue 1, the Champions League, and the Coupe de France. Even though set to win his first Ballon d'Or, he will skip the ceremony as PSG host Marseille in a rescheduled league game.
Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé has thrown his support behind his France teammate, telling Telefoot: “If it were up to me, I’d deliver it to his house.”
Yamal, 18, stands as Dembélé’s closest challenger after driving Barcelona to a LaLiga and Copa del Rey double, scoring 18 goals and providing 25 assists. The Euro 2024 winner represents Barca’s best chance of reclaiming the award for a record-extending 13th time.
Treble champions PSG have a commanding lead with nine nominees on the 30-man shortlist, while Liverpool's Mohamed Salah bears the Premier League's hopes after leading both goals (29) and assists (18) in England during the previous season.
Elsewhere, Napoli’s Scott McTominay makes history as the first Scot to be nominated since Ally McCoist in 1987. The Serie A Player of the Season registered 12 goals and six assists in his debut year, and could become only the second Scot after Denis Law (1964) to win the award.
Last year’s winner, Manchester City midfielder Rodri, misses out after an injury-hit campaign.