The Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) awards, co-organised by France Football magazine and UEFA, are among football's most prestigious individual honours.
Started in 1956, the award was decided by journalists to select the best European player of the previous year, before expanding in 1995 to include all players playing in Europe and then finally in 2007 to all players the world over. For six years between 2010-2015, the award was given in conjunction with FIFA, before the partnership ended and FIFA reverted to their separate annual award. The current iteration sees the award given for achievements during a football season, and not a calendar year, with the voting being done by an international jury of journalists (one per country).
Lionel Messi has won the most Ballons d'Or with eight, Cristiano Ronaldo follows with five.
The 2025 edition will be the 69th edition of the awards and will acknowledge achievements from Aug. 1, 2024 to July 13, 2025 (which was the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup) for the men's and Aug. 1 to Aug. 2. 2025 (which was the final of the 2025 Copa America Femenina) for women.
When, and where is the Ballon d'Or 2025 ceremony happening?
Date: Sept. 22, Monday
Time: 8 pm BST (3 PM ET, 12.30 am IST)
Venue: Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, France
Where to watch the Ballon d'Or 2025 ceremony
In the UK, streaming will be available on the award website itself -- ballondor.com/en/videos. In the U.S., it will be broadcast by CBS, while in India viewers can catch it live on SonyLIV.
Who are the nominees for the Ballon d'Or 2025 men's award?
Ousmane Dembélé (PSG and France)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG and Italy)
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England)
Désiré Doué (PSG and France)
Denzel Dumfries (Internazionale and the Netherlands)
Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund and Guinea)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal and Sweden)
Achraf Hakimi (PSG and Morocco)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli, PSG and Georgia)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona and Poland)
Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool and Argentina)
Lautaro Martínez (Internazionale and Argentina)
Scott McTominay (Napoli and Scotland)
Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid and France)
Nuno Mendes (PSG and Portugal)
João Neves (PSG and Portugal)
Pedri (Barcelona and Spain)
Cole Palmer (Chelsea and England)
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich and France)
Raphinha (Barcelona and Brazil)
Declan Rice (Arsenal and England)
Fabián Ruiz (PSG and Spain)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Florian Wirtz (Liverpool and Germany)
Vitinha (PSG and Portugal)
Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid and Brazil)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool and the Netherlands)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)
Who are the nominees for the Ballon d'Or 2025 women's award?
Lucy Bronze (Chelsea and England)
Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride and Zambia)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona and Spain)
Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea and France)
Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal and Spain)
Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich and Germany)
Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit and Italy)
Steph Catley (Arsenal and Australia)
Melchie Daëlle Dumornay (OL Lyonnes and Haiti)
Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current and Malawi)
Emily Fox (Arsenal and USA) Cristiana Girelli (Juventus and Italy)
Esther González (Gotham FC and Spain)
Caroline Graham Hansen (FC Barcelona and Norway)
Patri Guijarro (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras and Brazil)
Hannah Hampton (Chelsea and England)
Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich and Denmark)
Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes and USA)
Chloe Kelly (Manchester City, Arsenal and England)
Marta (Orlando Pride and Brazil)
Frida Leonhardsen Maanum (Arsenal and Norway)
Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona and Poland)
Clara Mateo (Paris FC and France)
Alessia Russo (Arsenal and England)
Clàudia Pina (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea and Sweden)
Caroline Weir (Real Madrid and Scotland)
Leah Williamson (Arsenal and England)
What other awards will be given?
The Men's and Women's Kopa Trophies (named after the French footballer Raymond Kopa), awarded for best young players (u21). The nominees are:
Men's:
Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona and Spain)
Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille and France)
Désiré Doué (PSG and France)
Estêvão (Palmeiras, Chelsea and Brazil)
Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth, Real Madrid and Spain)
Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal and England) Rodrigo Mora (Porto and Portugal)
João Neves (PSG and Portugal)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Kenan Yildiz (Juventus and Turkey)
Women's:
Michelle Agyemang (Brighton & Hove Albion and England)
Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid and Colombia)
Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea and Netherlands)
Claudia Martínez (Club Olimpia and Paraguay)
Vicky López (Barcelona and Spain)
The Men's and Women's Yashin Trophies (named after Soviet goalie Lev Yashin), awarded for the best goalkeeper. The nominees are:
Men's
Alisson Becker (Liverpool and Brazil)
Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal and Morocco)
Lucas Chevalier (Lille, PSG and France)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid and Spain)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG, Manchester City and Italy)
Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa and Argentina)
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid and Slovenia)
David Raya (Arsenal and Spain)
Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest and Belgium)
Yann Sommer (Inter Milan and Switzerland)
Women's
Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC and Germany)
Cata Coll (Barcelona and Spain)
Hannah Hampton (Chelsea and England)
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC, Brighton and Nigeria)
Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal and Netherlands)
Gerd Muller Trophies (named after the German striker), given to the top scorer from the previous season.
Socrates Award (named after Brazilian footballer Dr. Socrates), awarded for the best humanitarian work done by a footballer. This award is presented in collaboration with 'Peace and Sport'
Men's and Women's Club of the Year
The nominees are:
Men's
Women's
Men's and Women's Coach of the Year
The nominees are:
Men's
Antonio Conte
Luis Enrique
Hansi Flick
Enzo Maresca
Arne Slot
Women's
Sonia Bompastor
Arthur Elias
Justine Madugu
Renee Slegers
Sarina Wiegman