The Théâtre du Châtelet, home to France’s top football players, was lit up by the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony for a glamorous evening at the capital.
Numerous stars won top awards, and some surprises added new meaning to the night.
Celebrating rising talent, veteran accomplishments, and remarkable club excellence across the board, the ceremony highlighted the best of both men’s and women’s football.
Vicky López . Ballon d’Or, X, is the credit.
Ousmane Dembélé, a member of Paris Saint-Germain, won the Men’s Ballon d’Or for the first time following a stellar 2024/25 campaign.
Lamine Yamal, a native of Barcelona, came second, Vitinha came in third, and he won.
Dembélé helped PSG win their first Champions League title with 35 goals and 14 assists.
Ousmane Dembele, a French forward for Paris Saint-Germain, reacts to receiving the Ballon d’Or award at the Paris Theatre du Chatelet on September 22, 2025. (Franck FIFE/AFP photo)
Aitana Bonmata of Barcelona won the Women’s Ballon d’Or for the third time in a row.
Lamine Yamal, the best under-21 male player, retains the Men’s Kopa Trophy.
The Women’s Kopa Trophy, which honors emerging female talent from around the world, was given to Vicky López.
As the best goalkeeper in the world, Gianluigi Donnarumma won the Men’s Yachine Trophy.
Hannah Hampton’s outstanding performances for England and Chelsea earned her the Women’s Yachine Trophy.
Hannah Hampton’s speech. Ballon d’Or, X, is the credit.
The top scorer in both club and national competitions was Viktor Gyökeres, who won the Men’s Gerd Müller Trophy.
Ewa Pajor’s prowess in front of goal earned her the Women’s Gerd Müller Trophy.
Donnarumma
After both teams won Champions League titles, PSG won the Men’s Club of the Year award and Arsenal won the Women’s Club of the Year for their dominating campaign.
Sarina Wiegman was named the women’s coach of the year, while Luis Enrique won the Johan Cruyff Trophy for the year in the men’s category.
Ousmane Dembélé, the forward of France and Paris Saint-Germain, has been named the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, cementing his place among the great players in the game.
At the Paris Théâtre du Châtelet, the announcement was met with both joy and awe.
Ousmane Dembele, a Paris Saint-Germain player, reacts after receiving the Ballon d’Or award at the Paris Theatre du Chatelet on September 22, 2025 during the ceremony to celebrate the French national team’s 2025 Ballon d’Or in Paris. (Franck FIFE/AFP photo)
READ MORE: Nnadozie ranks fourth in the Super Falcons’ rankings as Hampton wins the Yachine Trophy.
Dembélé’s success is more than just a single award, in the eyes of many.
His move to Paris led to a new level of performance, which led to an unheard-of season of success after a Barcelona career that was plagued by injuries and inconsistent behavior.
Dembélé, 28, took the title from Barcelona and Spain’s Lamine Yamal, who was the trophy’s winner in 2024, replacing Rodri and Manchester City’s midfielder Rodri.
Donnarumma wins the Yachine Trophy
Gianluigi Donnarumma, the best goalkeeper in the world for 2025, was given the prestigious Yachine Trophy.
Donnarumma (right)
Four years after winning the prize, the Italian international’s triumph at the glittering Ballon d’Or ceremony represents a remarkable return to his former best, highest position.
His victory puts an end to Emiliano Martnez’ two-year rule and a change of guard among the world’s elite goalkeepers.
At the 2025 Ballon d’Or awards, England’s Hannah Hampton won the Women’s Yashin Trophy while Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie placed fourth.
Hampton, 24, saved two penalties against Spain in the final of England’s Euro 2025 victory.
She also contributed to Chelsea’s unbeaten treble, putting her in charge of the 2024/25 tournament’s top goalkeeper.
At the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Nnadozie performed outstandingly for the Super Falcons.
Hannah Hampton’s speech. Ballon d’Or, X, is the credit.
With a 3-2 victory over Morocco, the former Paris FC goalkeeper was named the tournament’s best goalkeeper.
Also read: Lamine Yamal Wins the 2025 Kopa Trophy
Nnadozie’s efforts helped the Falcons win their 10th WAFCON championship, strengthening her reputation internationally.
Chiamaka Nnadozie . Soar Super Eagles, X, is the credit.
After leading the team’s historic campaign, Super Falcons coach Justin Madugu was also nominated for Women’s Team Coach of the Year.
Sonia Bompastor, Renée Slegers, Brazil’s Arthur Elias, and England’s Sarina Wiegman were also shortlisted for the award.
Wiegman, 55, won the award after leading the Lionesses to their second European title in 2022.
Michelle Agyemang, an England striker, was nominated for the Kopa Trophy at the ceremony, but Vicky López, a Barcelona player, won the women’s prize.
Lamine Yamal, the first player to win the Kopa Trophy back-to-back, also made history by holding the trophy for the men.
Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy won the 2021-era Gianluigi Donnarumma second men’s Yashin Trophy.
The Super Falcons were recently honored by President Bola Tinubu for winning the World Football Championship with national honors, cash prizes, and housing.
After being forced off during Saturday’s defeat at Manchester United, England international Enzo Maresca is hopeful Cole Palmer won’t need groin surgery.
Palmer has only started two Premier League games this year and only played 21 minutes for Chelsea before slipping to the sidelines.
Maresca told reporters: “The medical staff, they didn’t mention surgery. They asked if the 23-year-old would need an operation on an injury that has been bothering him for a while.
INCLUDE In Battle for the Ballon d’Or Glory, Rembele and Yamal compete.
I’m not sure if it will happen in the next few days or the following weeks, but let me be honest: I don’t know.
He made a lot of effort to try to play the game on Saturday. He passed the test, and he was unsatisfied. But he aspired to support his team-mates and participate in that kind of game.
We made the decision to change it because it was painful, sadly. And it’s more determined by day, week, week, game, and week, rather than by day, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, week, and then we make our decisions. ”
Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile are both expected to miss Chelsea’s League Cup third-round match against third-tier Lincoln on Tuesday, with Palmer also missing.
Maresca likely will pick a number of young academy players, but the Italian acknowledged it was a risky choice because it had the potential to cause a cup debacle against a top-flight League One side.
Ousmane Dembele, the forward for Paris Saint-Germain, is expected to win the men’s Ballon d’Or on Monday while Lamine Yamal, the star of Barcelona, is predicted to defeat Aitana Bonmati for the second consecutive women’s prize.
A glittering ceremony will take place at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris to announce the winners of an award that has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for a while.
Ronaldo and Messi.
Between 2008 and 2023, that duo jointly won the Ballon d’Or 13 times.
After leading Spain to glory at Euro 2024, Rodri captained them to the most prestigious individual award in football last year.
Dembele, 28, has emerged as the favorite among a list of nominees predominated by Champions League winners PSG despite Rodri’s absence from this year’s list after suffering an injury-hit campaign last year.
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The PSG team that for the first time defeated Inter Milan 55-0 to claim the European title is one of the 30 nominees.
Desire Doue, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who has since moved to Manchester City, are among them.
Dembele would, however, have the edge after a stellar season that left Kylian Mbappe’s departing team with 35 goals.
That contribution made it possible for PSG to also win the Club World Cup’s final off of the grid.
Dembele, the winger turned center-forward, had a spectacular campaign for the French club, and Dembele had an even more extraordinary campaign.
When Dembele was questioned about what it meant to be a leading contender for the award, Dembele responded, “It is nice after what was a wonderful season with PSG.”
“We will see what happens, but I do believe it’s true that I’m one of the favorites.”
Due to the severe weather in southern France, many of the PSG nominees will have to miss the ceremony. However, Dembele could attend because she was hurt.
Yamal, who is 18 at the time, stands out among the other nominees because he has become a superstar at Barcelona and is regarded as Messi’s replacement.
He recently returned from helping Spain win the European Championship glory with his recent victory at the Kopa Trophy for the best player under the age of 21 at the previous year’s Ballon d’Or gala.
Last season, Barcelona won La Liga and the Spanish Copa del Rey, but they lost in the Champions League semifinals to Inter. He scored 18 goals in 55 games in all competitions.
Yamal recently said, “I dream of winning lots, not just one Ballon d’Or.”
Bonmati or the Lionesses, who knows? –
Aitana Bonmati, the midfielder for Spain, holds the trophy for the FIFA Golden Ball Award on the podium following the 2023 Women’s World Cup final game between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on August 20, 2023. Izhar KHAN/AFP photo:
Instead of being voted for over a calendar year as in the past, the Ballon d’Or is now decided on the basis of accomplishments from the previous season. Viktor Gyokeres, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, and Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, the key players in Liverpool’s 2024-2025 Premier League triumph, are other notable nominees.
One year after Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony, Mbappe and Vinicius Junior were both on the list, upset that the latter had been overlooked for the prize.
One of the top 100 nations in the FIFA world rankings is chosen by a panel of journalists to win the ballon d’or.
The field appears wide open as Barcelona and Spain star Bonmati scores a treble in the top 50 for women.
Bonmati, 27, is a talented athlete who won the UEFA Women’s Euro in July.
However, Bonmati’s Barcelona also lost the Champions League final to Arsenal in May, and Spain lost on penalties to England in the same match.
There is no obvious standout from the England team that won at the Euros, which could benefit her or Alexia Putellas’ or her teammate’s, who is also a two-time Olympian.
Both Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton, the team’s goalkeeper, Alessia Russo, and Leah Williamson, who received the winning penalty, are nominated from that side.
