PSG Players and Staff Will Not Attend Ballon d'Or Ceremony After Late Announcement

Paris Saint-Germain players and staff will not be able to attend the Ballon d'Or awards on Monday night as the ceremony is scheduled to take place at the same time as Le Classique.

A total of nine PSG players from last season's treble-winning team have been nominated for the men's Ballon d'Or this year.

Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha have all been put forward for the award alongside now-Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

In fact, Dembele is the favourite to take home football's most prestigious individual prize after an extraordinary 2024-25 campaign, which featured 35 goals and 16 assists in all competitions.

But on Sunday afternoon, PSG were forced to reschedule their Ligue 1 clash against Marseille from Sunday to Monday evening, meaning the game will clash directly with the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

The news means that Dembele will be made to choose between the events, although he was not included in Luis Enrique's squad to face Marseille because of injury. Desire Doue was also ruled out.

Enrique, meanwhile, will have no such option.

He was nominated for the Men's Coach of the Year award alongside Antonio Conte, Hansi Flick, Enzo Maresca and Arne Slot, but he will miss out on the ceremony as he takes his place on the Stade Velodrome touchline.

Statement confirms Le Classique postponement

Marseille released a statement on Sunday to confirm that their fixture against PSG has been postponed to Monday with storms expected in the region.

"Olympique de Marseille acknowledges the decision of the Bouches-du-Rhône Prefecture to postpone the OM – PSG match, initially scheduled for this evening, for security reasons linked to the weather conditions in the region.

"As communicated by the Professional Football League, and in accordance with its regulations, the match is rescheduled for this Monday, September 22 at 8 p.m., at the Orange Vélodrome.

"The club informs its supporters that tickets purchased for tonight's match will remain valid for tomorrow's rescheduled match."

The statement added: "Olympique de Marseille regrets that the conditions are not right to play the match this evening, both for its players, for its mobilized supporters already present, and for the full visibility of the event."

Dembele and Doue were left out of PSG's squad for the Marseille game due to injury. Image credit: Getty

The fixture was scheduled to kick off at 20:45 local time on Sunday, but the forecast for heavy rain led to fears for fans' safety. "Rainfall could reach 70 to 90mm in some areas and locally 120mm in a few hours," the PACA prefect said.