September 22, 2025 | Josephine Berger
The day is here! One of football’s most prestigious trophies will be given out today in Paris, France, at the annual ceremony. The 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony will be one to watch, as rumors start to circulate in the media about who will be taking this award home and/or why some athletes deserve it more than others. It is not clear as to who will be winning it this year, with 3 big contenders: Ousmane Dembele, a 2025 UEFA Champions League winner, and Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, two dynamic players from the same FC Barcelona side.
It is known that there are many factors that go into the judges’ decisions when choosing the athlete for this award that go beyond just the number of trophies gained in a season. The three key elements that must be shown in a winner should be as follows: a player’s individual performance, statistics like goals and assists throughout the season, team achievements, and career. Although Dembele is a recent UCL winner, many fans question whether he deserves the award, as Raphinha from Barcelona has more goals and assists from the past season.
Should winning the Champions League make you an automatic first contender, or should it solely be based on how a player has performed all season long, excluding their trophies?
As for my personal ranking for tonight’s big ceremony, down below is my Top 10 ranking for the 2025 Ballon d’Or contenders, with who I believe is the clear choice for the winner this season:
- Raphina (FC Barcelona)
- Dembele (PSG)
- Mo Salah (Liverpool)
- Lamine Yamal ( FC Barcelona)
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)
- Achraf Hakimi (PSG)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
- Pedri (FC Barcelona)
- Robert Lewandoski (FC Barcelona)
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea FC)
The ceremony starts at 9 p.m. CEST tonight, and it will be aired live for free on L’Equipe’s website and YouTube page. For the US, CBS will be broadcasting it on Paramount plus, and for the UK, a broadcaster has not been announced, viewers’ main choice is the online stream.
Beyond the Bernabeu 