Ballon d'Or 2025 nominees revealed: Check out!
What's the story
The nominees for the prestigious Ballon d'Or 2025 award have been announced. The list features some of the biggest names in football, including Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, and Mohamed Salah. However, notable absentees are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay has also been nominated for the 2025 men's Ballon d'Or award. The award ceremony will be held on September 22 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
Top contender
Dembele leads nominees list
Dembele is the top contender for his maiden Ballon d'Or, having scored 36 goals and assisted 13 in all competitions for club and country. Salah, who won the Premier League with Liverpool, and Barcelona's Raphinha, a La Liga champion with Barcelona are also among the nominees. The list was unveiled by France Football on Thursday.
Missing stars
Absence of football icons
The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi from the Ballon d'Or 2025 nominees list is a major talking point. Ronaldo, who won the UEFA Nations League in June, and Messi are not on the list. This marks a departure from previous years where both football legends were regulars on such prestigious award lists.
Complete roster
Nominees from A to D
The full list of nominees for the 2025 Ballon d'Or includes Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG & Italy), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid & England), Desire Doue (PSG & France), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan & Netherlands), Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund & Guinea) and Erling Haaland (Man City & Norway). It also features Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting CP/Arsenal & Sweden), Achraf Hakimi (PSG & Morocco), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich & England) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG & Georgia).
Additional candidates
Nominees from E to R
The nominee list also includes Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool & Argentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan & Argentina), Scott McTominay (Napoli & Scotland) and Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid & France). Other nominees are Nuno Mendes (PSG & Portugal), Joao Neves (PSG & Portugal), Pedri (Barcelona & Spain), Cole Palmer (Chelsea & England), Michael Olise (PSG & France), Raphinha (Barcelona & Brazil), Declan Rice (Arsenal & England).
Twitter Post
Nominees!
Here are the 2025 Ballon d'Or nominees!#ballondor pic.twitter.com/tehmbU4R0j
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) August 7, 2025