The 30-man shortlist has been revealed for the 2025 Ballon d'Or award, where a number of world stars are in contention for the most prestigious individual prize.
The 69th annual ceremony of the France Football gong takes place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on September 22, where the winner will be announced along with other awards such as the Ballon d'Or Feminine, Kopa Trophy, Yashin Trophy and Gerd Muller Trophy.
For the fourth time in the history of the award, nominees have been included based on performances in a season as opposed to a calendar year.
Therefore, the period is between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025 - factoring in the Club World Cup which was won by Chelsea in the United States.
Who has been nominated for the 2025 Ballon d'Or?
The nominees were rolled out in groups of five on Thursday 7 August, with the shortlist dominated by Paris Saint-Germain players following their Champions League triumph.
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After trouncing Inter Milan 5-0 in the final, Ousmane Dembele, Vitinha, Joao Neves, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes all made the list.
Vitinha, Neves and Mendes' hopes were boosted further as they were part of the Portugal side who won the UEFA Nations League with a victory which might just have affected the final placement of Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal.
Rodri won the 2024 iteration after a stellar year with Manchester City and Spain, but he joins Michael Owen in failing to be nominated the following year after an ACL injury ruled him out for the majority of the 2024/25 campaign.
In terms of other nominees, Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham features alongside Desire Doue, Denzel Dumfries, Serhou Guirassy, Erling Haaland, Viktor Gyokeres and Harry Kane.
PSG winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was also included, as well as Robert Lewandowski, Alexis Mac Allister, Lautaro Martinez, Scott McTominay, Kylian Mbappe, Pedri, Cole Palmer, Michael Olise, Raphinha, Declan Rice, Fabian Ruiz and Virgil van Dijk.
To round things off, Vinicius Jr made the cut alongside Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz and Lamine Yamal.
One of the big talking points from this year's Ballon d'Or shortlist was the lack of Bruno Fernandes, who was one of the Premier League's standout performers last season, despite Manchester United's struggles.
X account @TouchlineX asked the question: "Should Bruno Fernandes' have been among the 30 nominees instead of Jude Bellingham?"
Here's how fans on social media reacted.
One said: "Frankly, I won't rate the Ballon d'Or ever again if Bruno Fernandes doesn't at least make the top 10," while another commented: "Somehow Jude Bellingham made the list but not Bruno Fernandes who had a much better season (individually) and won the Nations League."
A third wrote: "Bruno is miles better than most of them in there," and a fourth added: "Yes I think he deserves it more than Jude."
The full list of all 30 Ballon d'Or nominees
- Ousmane Dembele (Paris-Saint-Germain, France)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris-Saint-Germain, Italy)
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England)
- Desire Doue (Paris-Saint-Germain, France)
- Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan, Netherlands)
- Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund, Guinea)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway)
- Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal, Sweden)
- Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain, Georgia)
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona, Poland)
- Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool, Argentina)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan, Argentina)
- Scott McTominay (Napoli, Scotland)
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid, France)
- Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal)
- Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal)
- Pedri (Barcelona, Spain)
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea, England)
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich, France)
- Raphinha (Barcelona, Brazil)
- Declan Rice (Arsenal, England)
- Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain, Spain)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, Brazil)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt)
- Florian Wirtz (Liverpool, Germany)
- Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
How does Ballon d'Or voting work?
Journalists from France Football and L'Equipe, another French publication, are responsible for the initial 30-player shortlist.
Then, a leading journalist from each of the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations will vote for their top 10 players in order - with specific points given depending on where they are placed.
"Individual performances, decisive and impressive character, team performances and achievements and class and fair play" are the key areas which are taken into account by those who vote.
Current players do not have a say, with captains only casting votes in the FIFA Men's Best Player awards.
Topics: Ballon d'Or, Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembele, Fan Reactions
Josh Lawless