The Ballon d'Or 2025 is set to be one of the highlights of the calendar, as the biggest individual prize in football rolls around once more.
Conceived by French outlet France Football in 1956, England's very own Stanley Matthews scooped the inaugural award – and shockingly, no Blackpool player has lifted the gong since. 2025 will mark 30 years since non-Europeans were first eligible to win the award – while in the years that have followed, there's been drama, outright robberies and a Messi-Ronaldo stranglehold on the voting.
Here at FourFourTwo, we have all the latest that you need to know when it comes to the Ballon d'Or and all of the various awards that are handed out on the night. We were present at the 2024 ceremony for Rodri's surprise win and will bring you the latest as the favourites unfold and news drops regarding one of the most prestigious awards in sport.
Favourites, odds and power ranking
What are the odds for the Ballon d'Or?
After coming agonisingly close to winning a Ballon d'Or last time around, Vinicius Jr is the odds-on favourite to lift it next year.
Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal and Jude Bellingham follow the Real Madrid star in the power rankings – though it's incredibly early days.
The full list of odds can be found here.
Nominations
When are the nominations for the Ballon d'Or 2025?
Before the showpiece event to reveal the ultimate winner, a 30-man shortlist is drawn up to show who is up for the award.
For the 2024 edition, this shortlist was announced at the beginning of September and, given that the Club World Cup next year will be held across similar dates as international competitions this summer, the shortlist can be expected at a similar point for 2025.
Finding out who is up for the award is a big date in the football calendar, expect to see clubs shout it from the rooftops if any of their players have been nominated next year.
Date and location
When is the Ballon d’Or happening?
The 68th instalment of the award is likely to be held at a similar date to this year’s ceremony, in October, given that the award now takes into account full European seasons rather than calendar years.
When the award was previously handed out based on the calendar year, rather than seasons, the awards were typically held in November or December, until the format changed to make voting criteria simpler.
At the time of writing, a precise date for the ceremony in 2025 is yet to be revealed.
Where is the Ballon d’Or being held?
The Theatre du Chatelet in Paris is the likely venue for the Ballon d’Or ceremony in 2025, given that it has hosted every iteration of the awards since 2019, having been held at the Grande Palais, also in Paris, previous to that.
The Ballon d’Or itself was first conceived as a concept by French magazine France Football, an organisation that still has a large involvement in the event, which is why it is held there, but it has been held in Switzerland in previous years to be closer to FIFA’s headquarters.
Judging
How is the Ballon d’Or decided?
Despite having once been decided based on a player’s exploits across a calendar year, to simplify the voting now a full season is taken into account. For example, Rodri received the 2024 award for his performances across the 2023/24 season, rather than everything he did in 2024.
The Ballon d’Or award is put to a jury of football journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA Men’s Ranking. Each member of the jury selects ten players in descending order, with their top selection receiving 15 points and their 10th selection receiving one.
Those points are then totted up, and whichever player comes out with the most points when all the votes are cast is the winner.
Other awards on the night
What other awards are being awarded at the Ballon d'Or?
Several awards will be given out on the night of the Ballon d'Or. These recognise individual achievements in the world of football aside from the main gong, and are as follows:
The Kopa Trophy
The Kopa Trophy is awarded to the best young player under 21 in the world at the moment. The prize is named after legendary French star Raymond Kopa – and the current holder of the award is Lamine Yamal.
The Gerd Muller Trophy
The Gerd Muller Trophy is given to the best striker in the world right now. The award was named after the late German striker Muller, who died in 2021 – and the current holders are Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane.
The Yashin Trophy
The Yashin Trophy is given to the best goalkeeper in the world right now. The prize is named after Lev Yashin – the only goalkeeper to have ever won the Ballon d'Or – and Emiliano Martinez is the current holder.
The Socrates Award
The Socrates Award is a prize given for one footballer's contribution to society, often pivoting around charity or campaigning. The gong is named after Brazilian legend Socrates and is currently held by Jenni Hermoso.
Men's Club of the Year
The Men's Club of the Year Award is given to the club side who have impressed most all year. Every winner of the prize has been English, too – France Football first gave out the inaugural award to Chelsea in 2021, before Manchester City won back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Real Madrid are the current holders.
Women's Club of the Year
Women's Club of the Year followed the men's gong in 2023. The inaugural winners were Barcelona – who retained it in 2024.
Coach of the Year
The Men's Coach of the Year and Women's Coach of the Year were both introduced to the BDO in 2024. Carlo Ancelotti won the former, with Emma Hayes lifting the latter.
Former winners
Who's won the Ballon d'Or before?
The Ballon d'Or has a long list of illustrious recipients. Lionel Messi holds the record for the most Ballon d'Or award wins, with eight – while 45 players have won the gong in total.
Here's all 10 players to have won the award twice or more:
Ballon d'Or Feminin
When is the Women's Ballon d'Or?
The Ballon d'Or Feminin takes place the same night at the same awards show.
Aitana Bonmati has won the previous two awards, with Barcelona Femeni completing a 1-2-3 on the podium in 2024. In fact, no one from outside Barcelona has won the award since before COVID, when Megan Rapinoe won the second award. Ada Hegerberg lifted the first women's BDO in 2018.
