The race for the 2025 Ballon d’Or has been fascinating, with many twists and turns. Mohamed Salah and Raphinha have been in the conversation for the last eight months, but other players have also given brilliant performances in recent months.
Traditionally, the UEFA Champions League has played a huge role in deciding the Ballon d’Or winner. Both PSG and Inter Milan will be quietly confident of claiming Europe’s biggest prize, and it will be interesting to see how the mouthwatering final clash plays out.
With league seasons and the UEFA Champions League being decided in the next few days, May promises to be an important month in the Ballon d’Or race.
Along with team glory, individual records and performances will all be taken note of as the season heads towards an exciting finish.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the 5 favorites to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or award:
Inter Milan could be winning a spectacular double in the next few days. They are in the UEFA Champions League final and just a point behind Napoli in the Serie A title race.
It has been a true team performance from Inter this season, with various players putting their hands up in crucial moments. However, one man who has been ever present and almost changed the way centre-backs have been perceived this season is Alessandro Bastoni.
Speaking to Ball.Ldn in April, Bastoni himself spoke about his game:
The likes of Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez, Nico Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Denzel Dumfries have all played starring roles for Inter this season. However, Bastoni’s solid and enterprising presence at the back has been one of the main reasons for Inter’s stunning season.
If Inter do manage to win a spectacular double, Bastoni could well be in the dark horse in the race to lift the 2025 Ballon d’Or trophy.
A record-breaking and Premier League-winning season might still not be enough for Mohamed Salah to claim the 2025 Ballon d’Or award.
The Liverpool superstar has undoubtedly been the best player in the Premier League this season and his 46 goal contributions (28 goals and 18 assists) have definitely played a huge role in the Reds being runaway Premier League champions.
However, an early exit in the UEFA Champions League along with a slight drop in form in recent weeks could see the Egyptian miss out on the prestigious individual prize.
Extremely consistent, fit and always popping up for Liverpool in the biggest moments, Salah’s incredible early-season form and heroics should not be forgotten.
There have been a lot of players who have been titled as the ‘next Lionel Messi,’ but Lamine Yamal is the real deal. Still only 17, the Barcelona youngster is already the talisman of his team and has been terrorising opposition defenders throughout the season with his pace, trickery, dribbling skills, and vision.
Yamal is also a big match player and often reserves his best performances for high-profile matches like the El Clásico against Real Madrid or the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Inter.
Supremely skilled on the ball and soon to be crowned La Liga champion, Yamal is almost a shoo-in for the top 5 places in the 2025 Ballon d’Or award rankings.
One of the most in-form players in world football at the moment, Raphinha’s redemption arc at Barcelona has been the stuff of fairytales. Initially struggling to hit his stride with the Catalan giants, Raphinha has been nothing short of extraordinary this season.
The Brazilian superstar has been in scintillating form for Barcelona and would have almost sealed the Ballon d’Or trophy this season if Hansi Flick’s men had gone on to win the UEFA Champions League.
With 13 goals and 8 assists in 14 UCL games and 18 goals and 9 assists in 33 La Liga games this season, Raphinha has been the creative heartbeat for Barcelona.
Yamal and Raphinha are arguably the best wide duo in world football at the moment, and it will be exciting times for Barcelona fans if they continue their stunning form next season.
If PSG do go on to win the elusive UEFA Champions League against Inter Milan, it will be tough to look past Ousmane Dembele for the 2025 Ballon d’Or award.
Already a Ligue 1 winner this season, Demeble’s form since the turn of 2025 has been extraordinary. Capable of playing anywhere across the forward line and devastatingly two-footed in his shots and set-pieces, Demeble is finally living up to his immense potential under Luis Enrique’s guidance.
While Dembele has always been talented, his fitness and commitment at times have been called into question in the past. However, this season the French forward has dispelled all doubts and has been almost ever-present for PSG.
The ball is in Dembele’s court now. It is up to him to go and seize the moment against Inter and become the outright favorite to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or award.
Apart from his duties at Sportskeeda, Ashwin Hanagudu is also an active table tennis player and has played multiple state ranking and national tournaments representing Karnataka.
A huge sports fan, some of the athletes and sportspersons he admires in no particular order are Virat Kohli, Steven Gerrard, Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu
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