The top five Ballon d'Or contenders for 2025

Cameron Smith

• 24 Apr 2025 13:00 BST
• 5 min read

Analysis

The Ballon d’Or may have lost some of its shine following the end of the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo era, but it remains the most prestigious individual award in world football.

Every elite player dreams of winning it one day and the eventual victor will cement their name among the greats of the game.

READ MORE: Who will win Ballon d’Or 2025? Shortlist, favourites, latest odds, date and past winners

Manchester City midfielder Rodri is the reigning champion after his somewhat controversial win in 2024, with Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior angered by his second place finish.

However, a new winner is almost guaranteed to be crowned this year as Rodri has missed virtually the entire 2024-25 season through an ACL injury and Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Messi and Ronaldo (the only active players to have won the Ballon d’Or) are extremely unlikely to emerge victorious.

The Ballon d’Or now takes into consideration a full European campaign (from August to July) rather than a calendar year, meaning the 2024-25 season will be responsible for deciding who will win the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the top five contenders for the 2025 Ballon d’Or as things stand.

READ MORE: The 2024 Ballon d'Or top 30 in full

Raphinha (Barcelona)

Raphinha is currently the clear favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this season - a sentence that would’ve been met with disbelief last summer amid Barcelona’s eagerness to offload him.

However, the former Leeds United winger has enjoyed a simply sublime campaign under Hansi Flick and he is widely expected to become the first Brazilian to win the award since Kaka back in 2007.

Raphinha has been forced to play as a left winger due to the emergence of Lamine Yamal, yet he has shone in this position and he will become an even stronger candidate for the Ballon d’Or if Barcelona win the Champions League and La Liga double.

Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

The aforementioned Yamal is also a major contender for the Ballon d’Or and he would smash Ronaldo Nazario’s record as the youngest ever winner if he is able to taste victory later this year.

The Spaniard burst onto the scene with a stunning 2023-24 campaign and he has reached ever greater heights this season as Barcelona have re-emerged as heavyweights on the European scene.

Yamal will need a fantastic final few weeks in the Champions League and La Liga if he is to usurp Raphinha, however, as the Brazilian has a far superior goal record this year.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Mohamed Salah was the overwhelming favourite to win the Ballon d’Or at the start of 2025, but his chances of claiming the award have diminished by the second since the turn of the year.

The Egyptian’s mesmeric start to the campaign hasn’t quite continued and while he has guided Liverpool to the Premier League title, his ineffectiveness during their Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain has harmed his bid for glory.

Salah is still expected to finish inside the top five due to his immense tally of goals and assists, however he will need Barcelona to crash out of the Champions League versus Inter Milan in order to have any chance of winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

Ousmane Dembele (PSG)

Ousmane Dembele’s career revival in 2024-25 has been nothing short of spectacular and it has fired him into contention for this year’s Ballon d’Or.

The France international has never been a reliable goalscorer during his career so far, but that fact is no longer true and he is now the lynchpin of PSG’s world class attacking unit under Luis Enrique.

To beat Raphinha and Yamal to the award, however, he will likely need to guide PSG to their first ever Champions League trophy and have a meaningful impact in the final.

Pedri (Barcelona)

Forwards are always given preferential treatment when it comes to individual awards, due to their eye-catching tallies of goals and assists, but Pedri could buck that trend this year.

The Barcelona midfielder has been one of the world’s best players so far this season and he is a key reason why the Blaugrana could be set to end a 10-year Champions League drought in May.

Pedri has been simply unplayable for the majority of the campaign and he deserves immense recognition, despite the fact that his Barcelona team-mates Raphinha and Yamal are more likely contenders to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or.