Ballon d’Or 2025 nominees announced: Dembele, Bellingham, Yamal, Haaland in contention

NEW DELHI: Ousmane Dembele, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, and Erling Haaland were some of the notable footballers who were nominated for the Ballon d’Or 2025.

The nominees for the Ballon d’Or 2025 were revealed on Thursday, with shortlists for all categories announced in stages throughout the afternoon on the official L’Équipe website and app, as per Olympics.com.

First awarded in 1956, the Ballon d’Or is both the name of the award presented to the world’s best men’s and women’s footballers, and the annual ceremony that honours standout performers from across the game.

Organised by France Football, the event now includes prizes for young players, goalkeepers, coaches, clubs and humanitarian impact, alongside the prestigious individual trophies.

Men’s Ballon d’Or nominees:

Here are the 30 nominees for the Men’s Ballon d’Or, awarded to the best male footballer of the 2024-25 season.

Ousmane Dembele (PSG and France)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG and Italy)
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England)
Desire Doue (PSG and France)
Denzel Dumfries (Internazionale and the Netherlands)
Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund and Guinea)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal and Sweden)
Achraf Hakimi (PSG and Morocco)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG and Georgia)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona and Poland)
Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool and Argentina)
Lautaro Martinez (Internazionale and Argentina)
Scott McTominay (Napoli and Scotland)
Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid and France)
Nuno Mendes (PSG and Portugal)
João Neves (PSG and Portugal)
Pedri (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Cole Palmer (Chelsea and England)
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich and France)
Raphinha (Barcelona and Brazil)
Declan Rice (Arsenal and England)
Fabian Ruiz (PSG and Spain)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Florian Wirtz (Liverpool and Spain)
Vitinha (PSG and Portugal)
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid and Brazil)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool and the Netherlands)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)

Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees:

Here are the 30 nominees for the Women’s Ballon d’Or, awarded to the best female footballer of the 2024-25 season.

Lucy Bronze (Chelsea and England)**
Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride and Zambia)
Aitana Bonmati (FC Barcelona and Spain)
Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea and France)
Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal and Spain)
Klara Buhl (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 Gonzalez (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 (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)
Claudia 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). (ANI)