Written by: Holofelang Mogane
The football world came to a standstill as the 69th annual Ballon d’Or award ceremony took place in the national capital of Paris, France. The ceremony was presented by France Football.
The Ballon d’Or is an award ceremony that celebrates the world’s best football players from the previous season, 2024/25. The awards will be presented based on the results of the previous season, instead of the calendar year, and the period is from 01 August 2024 to 13 July 2025.
The Ballon d’Or recipient will be judged based on their achievements in both club football and international football. The award is judged based on three main criteria:
1. Individual performances, decisive and impressive character.
2. Team performances and achievements.
3. Class and fair play
The 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or winner was Rodrigo, of Spain and Manchester City, whereas Aitana Bonmati won the 2024 Women’s Ballon d’Or award. So now the question remains…who will reign supreme and be crowned the best in the world?
The 2025 Ballon d’Or nominees were announced on 07 August 2025 after a remarkable football season that saw respective football leagues in both the men’s and women’s game crown champions, and other competitions that took place this past season, including Arsenal winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League, PSG winning the UEFA Champions League, Chelsea FC winning the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, England retaining the UEFA Women’s Euro title, and Brazil winning the 2025 Copa America Femenia.
Back to the question, who will reign supreme in the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris?
The event started with a red carpet event, including figures such as Ousmane Dembélé, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Virgil Van Dijk, Arne Slot, Allisson Becker, Viktor Gyökeres, Gianluigi Donnarumma, etc., making their presence felt at the award ceremony.
Ligue 1 giants, Paris Saint-Germain, missed out on the awards ceremony due to their Ligue 1 commitments, as they had a match against Olympique Marseille that was postponed to the day of the award ceremony (they lost 1-0 to Marseille). Real Madrid also missed out due to their LaLiga commitments as they had to focus on their next league encounter against Levante.
The Top 5 contenders for the Johan Cruyff Men’s Head Coach of the Year included Arne Slot (Liverpool FC), Enzo Maresca (Chelsea FC), Hansi Flick (FC Barcelona), Antonio Conte (SSC Napoli), and Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain). After a remarkable season, PSG head coach Luis Enrique won the Johan Cruyff trophy, after his side won their 13th Ligue 1 title last season, together with the Coupe de France, their maiden UEFA Champions League title, and the UEFA Super Cup title in the previous campaign.
Sarina Wiegman took home the Women’s Johan Cruyff trophy after a remarkable year that saw England win the Women’s UEFA Euro title by defeating Spain the FIFA Women’s World Cup champions in the Euro final in Basel, Switzerland. This was Wiegman’s 3rd Women’s Euro title, on top of the 2017 Euro title as Netherlands Women’s head coach, and the 2022 Euro title victory as the England Women’s head coach (a position she still serves today).
In the Women’s game, Arsenal won the Women’s Club of the Year award after a remarkable victory in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final when they defeated FC Barcelona, making them the only English women’s side to win a European Champions League twice. Whereas Paris Saint-Germain won the Men’s Club of the Year after a season where they won the UEFA Champions League title, Ligue 1 title, and Coupe de France title last season.
The Gerd Müller trophy was awarded to Viktor Gyökeres after an incredible season that saw him win the Portuguese Primeira Liga title, Taça de Portugal, top goal scorer in the Taça de Portugal, UEFA Nations League top goal scorer, and Portuguese Player of the Year. Whereas Ewa Pajor won the Women’s Gerd Müller Trophy after she was a part of a Barcelona side that won the Primera Division, Supercopa de España, and was a runner-up in the Women’s Champions League.
Lamine Yamal won his 2nd successive Kopa Trophy after a remarkable season that saw FC Barcelona win a domestic treble last season, including the Spanish LaLiga title, Supercopa de España, and Copa del Rey title. He surpassed Pau Cubarsi (FC Barcelona), Desire Doue (PSG), Estêvão Willian (Palmeiras – Chelsea), and Kenan Yildiz (Juventus) to win the Kopa Trophy. Whereas Viky Lopez won the women’s Kopa Trophy after a remarkable season that saw Barcelona won the league and Super Cup titles.
Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma took home the Yashin Trophy, surpassing Alisson, Yassine Bounou, Lucas Chevalier, Thibaut Courtois, etc. Donnarumma was involved in the PSG side that won the treble last season, despite signing for Premier League Giants, Manchester City this season. Hannah Hampton took home the Women’s Yashin Trophy after being involved in both club and country’s respective successes – winning the FA Women’s Super League with Chelsea last season, and winning the UEFA Women’s Euro title in Switzerland. She surpassed Ann-Katrin Berger, Cata Coll, and Chiamaka Nnadozie.
The moment of truth – the Ballon d’Or winners for BOTH the men and women.
For the 3rd successive season, Spain’s Aitana Bonmati took home the big prize, as she retains her Ballon d’Or award. The Spanish midfielder won the Primera Division with Barcelona, and went to the UEFA Women’s Champions League final, and the UEFA Women’s Euro. She may not have won either European competition for club and country, but her remarkable individual season earned her the Women’s Ballon d’Or award. She surpassed country-mate, Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), and Chloe Kelly (Man City – Arsenal)
France’s Ousmane Dembélé won the Men’s Ballon d’Or award after a remarkable season. Ousmane Dembélé was named in the UEFA Champions League team of the season, on top of winning the Player of the Season. He also won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, and is also the joint top goal scorer. He won the award after surpassing Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona), Vitinha (PSG), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Raphinha (FC Barcelona), Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), and Cole Palmer (Chelsea) in a tough race for the Golden Ball.
And let’s not forget, the award ceremony, presented by France Football, paid its respect to football’s newest angels, Andre Silva and Diogo Jota. The brothers tragically passed away in a car accident on 03 July, in the province of Zamora, Spain. They were travelling back to England via a ferry when their vehicle, Lamborghini Huracan, suffered a tyre blowout, resulting in their tragic death.
This past season has seen some high and lows, remarkable moments and moments to forget. This season will be filled with new memories, and more competitions to fight for, as this season has the much-awaited 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
Who will win the 2026 Ballon d’Or? Let us find out at the end of this season.
