The biggest individual prize in the game will be handed out on Monday when the winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or is announced.
As the ceremony approaches, two players appear to have established themselves as firm favorites. Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembélé is coming off the back of the best year of his career, but he finds the phenomenon that is Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal directly in his path.
The race is an open one, and some of the world’s biggest names have weighed in with their picks for the winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
Cristiano Ronaldo
“The individual awards have lost some consensus; I can’t say anything about who should win,” the Al Nassr forward told reporters in June.
“In my opinion, those who stand out and win the Champions League should win. But there is no consensus. I don’t believe much in individual awards because I know what goes on behind the scenes. Lamine could win, like Dembélé or Vitinha, other emerging players... But individual awards are irrelevant.”
Kylian Mbappé
“People are talking about Lamine Yamal and Dembélé, but my choice is clear: I vote for Dembélé,” Mbappé said back in July.
Earlier this month, the Real Madrid forward reiterated his support for his fellow Frenchman: “I hope Dembélé wins it. I supported him from the start. I also hope that Achraf [Hakimi] will be well ranked, it would be good for the defenders, he had a historic season.”
Rodri
Last year’s winner, Manchester City midfielder Rodri is ready to put his Spanish allegiances to one side as he backs a Champions League winner to take home the prize.
“The Ballon d’Or is difficult,” Rodri confessed. “PSG has been the team of the season, and it would be hard not to give it to someone from that team. I’m happy for [the club’s manager] Luis Enrique.
“I’d like to see it go to Lamine or Pedri, but on sporting merit, it’s Dembélé or Vitinha.”
Casemiro
While Yamal and Dembélé are the runaway favorites, Manchester United midfielder Casemiro has other ideas.
“It’s very difficult, but in my opinion, for me, [Mohamed] Salah,” he told GQ. “He is the best player with his impact on the game. He scores so much and assists so much.
“I think Liverpool don’t win this trophy, for example, the Champions League or another trophy, because he dropped off a little in the second part of the season. But, for me, the most balanced player of the season is Salah.”
Harry Kane
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, the joint-recipient of last year’s Gerd Müller Trophy, is another backing PSG to produce a winner.
“Maybe one of the PSG players,” he said in August. “Maybe Dembélé. Hakimi had a great year.”
Gavi
“I hope Yamal wins,” Barcelona midfielder Gavi told AS somewhat unsurprisingly.
“If he doesn’t this year, he’s 18 and very young. Being among the favorites is something unique. I’m happy with what he’s doing with us.”
José Mourinho
While he was still manager of Fenerbahçe, José Mourinho was another to decline to name a favorite, but the current Benfica boss believes one of PSG’s Portuguese superstars should take home the prize.
“Football, no matter how much we want to make players or coaches special people, for me it always remains a team game,” he told Canal 11. “And for me, any individual award should always have a direct link to titles.
“I love Nuno Mendes and Vitinha, I can’t decide between them. The only thing I can say is that there are only a few good midfielders, and now also left backs, like them. I would like one of them to win it, of course, but then Jorge Mendes will be upset with me because he thinks only Yamal, his player, should win.”
Lautaro Martínez
Inter striker Lautaro Martínez, named 2024’s rightful winner by Lionel Messi, left Yamal out of his list of potential winners.
“Many have had great seasons, with numerous titles to their name,” he told France Football. “Paris has quite a few nominees and one of them could win it, Hakimi, Dembélé...
“Otherwise, I really like Mohamed Salah. But it depends on how everything is evaluated, because he had an excellent season in the Premier League, which he won, and he’s really an interesting player.”
Paul Pogba
“Probably, in my opinion, Ousmane will always be a bit ahead of Lamine Yamal,” the Frenchman told streamer IShowSpeed. “He killed it this year, won the Champions League, and he was so important, scoring goals in big games.
“This is his year. If he doesn’t win it now, he will never win it.”
Jules Koundé
Barcelona’s French defender Jules Koundé is in the unique position of playing alongside both leading favorites. He’d be happy to see either Dembélé or Yamal lift the trophy.
“Both [players] deserve it,” Koundé said earlier this month. “They’ve had extraordinary seasons, winning titles. Being teammates, it’s difficult; I’m not going to vote, but there are arguments in favor of both.”
Luis Enrique
PSG’s Champions League triumph is a key part of the argument for Dembélé, and the French side’s manager believes he should be impossible to overlook.
“Everyone is talking about the Ballon d’Or, but I would give it to Ousmane Dembélé just because if we think about how he defended today, he showed just what he was made of,” Enrique said in the immediate aftermath of the Champions League final.
“He was a leader, he was humble, he got back down [the pitch] and he defended, and I think that without a shadow of a doubt he deserves this, not only for the goals that he scored but also for the pressing that was seen. We’ve seen such a season from him, but he was exceptional in this final.”
Raphinha
Barcelona winger Raphinha gleefully offered up five potential winners, but there was no mention of Dembélé on his list.
“Lamine, Salah, Mbappé too,” he began. “Pedri, for me, one of the best in the world. Vinicius [Junior], for me, is always a candidate, even if his numbers are slightly below last year.”
Gareth Bale
“It does make him the front runner by some way in my opinion,” was Gareth Bale’s response when asked whether PSG’s Champions League victory should seal the deal for Dembélé.
“I think everyone obviously talks about individuals, but I think if you are winning those trophies as well, you're winning the Champions league, obviously they've won their domestic treble...
“It’s hard to see anyone else from the season he’s had and he’s transformed them into trophies as well as the season he’s had.”
READ THE LATEST ON THE BALLON D'OR 2025—NEWS, NOMINEES AND RANKINGS
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2025 Ballon d’Or: Who Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Other Stars Are Backing to Win.
