Ballon d'Or Race Heats Up: Dembele Leads Stellar Nominees

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)

One of England's brightest hopes in a generation, the midfielder has been nominated again, after also receiving a nod last season. The midfielder netted 15 goals and registered 15 assists in all competitions but Real's failure to win either the Champions League or La Liga makes a victory unlikely.

Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain)

Perhaps the frontrunner. A remarkable season saw PSG win the Champions League and Ligue 1, and Dembele develop into the winger he was always meant to be. The Frenchman won every competition there was to win, and scored 37 goals along the way, while also providing 16 assists. He has finally arrived.

Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)

PSG's golden gloved goalkeeper, he played a key role in their multiple triumphs, notably the Champions League. While it has now been 62 years since Lev Yashin became the first, and thus far only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or, there is always a place for the world's best shot-stoppers on the shortlist of nominees, and Donnarumma separated himself from the pack in 2025 thanks to his outstanding performances in the Champions League knockout rounds.

Desire Doue (Paris Saint-Germain)

Doue wasn't always a guaranteed starter for PSG, but whenever he got on the pitch, he made sure not to waste a minute. That resulted in the summer signing from Rennes enjoying a debut campaign to remember, capped by his performances in the knockout rounds of the Champions League. He scored a grand total of 16 goals, and also provided 16 assists, culminating in a brilliant brace in the Champions League final as Inter were blown away.

Denzel Dumfries (Inter)

Inter reached the final of the Champions League and while they were ultimately unsuccessful, Dumfries enjoyed a sterling campaign, playing 47 times and registering 17 goal involvements from a wing-back-*-winger position.

Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund)

Guirassy enjoyed a truly remarkable campaign for Dortmund. The 29-year-old scored a staggering 38 goals in 50 games, including 13 in 14 Champions League games as the Bundesliga giants reached the quarter-finals. He netted a hat-trick against Barcelona but it wasn't enough, and his Ballon d'Or nod is likely to be just that, a nod.

Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal)

Arsenal's next great striker hope. An absolute revelation since arriving at Sporting CP from Coventry City in the summer of 2023, Gyokeres' hat-trick to down Manchester City in the Champions League back in October was his true breakout moment, as the Sweden striker's goal-scoring exploits went on to earn the global headlines they deserved. He hit 63 goals in all competitions, a number that is next to impossible to ignore in this voting.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

While he perhaps enjoyed a lower-key season than he would have liked, Haaland still netted 34 goals in all competitions for Manchester City, but they endured a difficult season by their immense standards, and he is unlikely to challenge the frontrunners for the Golden Ball. Not this time around, at least.

Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)

Debates over who is the best right-back in world football throw up a whole host of contenders for the crown, but right now it's difficult to look past Achraf Hakimi were a World XI being selected. The PSG star has been a consistently high performer for half a decade across his spells at Borussia Dortmund and Inter, and he looks to be getting even better. A staggering season saw the right-back contribute 30 goal involvements, and he helped the club keep 26 clean sheets.

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)

It finally happened: Kane won a trophy! The England captain yet again showed his goal-scoring instincts remain at a high level despite having turned 31 as he fired Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title, allowing him to celebrate the long-awaited first silverware of his career. A staggering tally of 48 goals and 14 assists make him a genuine contender here.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain)

Kvaratskhelia's goal and assist numbers don't quite match the level of his play at times during the 2024-25 season, but the Georgia winger contributed towards two different title triumphs, for PSG and Napoli, while playing a key role for the French side en route to them winning the Champions League. A tally of 15 goals and 13 assists is still mightily impressive, though it falls behind some massive numbers on this list.

Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)

After Lewandowski missed out on the Ballon d'Or shortlist in 2024, it seemed like the Pole's long and, thus far, fruitless bid to pick up a Golden Ball was over. However, having been reunited with his former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick at Barcelona, the 36-year-old rolled back the years to become one of Europe's most potent No.9s once again in 2024-25, netting 44 goals in all competitions. He is ageing like a fine wine.

Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)

Mac Allister became Liverpool's glue in midfield as they won the Premier League title under Arne Slot. While not as flashy as some of his team-mates, the Argentine dictated from deep, and contributed 13 goal involvements from the deep-lying 6 position.

Lautaro Martinez (Inter)

Another Champions League runner-up, Martinez enjoyed a remarkably strong campaign for Inter, as he netted 24 goals in all competitions. He scored in all but two of their European knockout games, and also tasted disappointment in Serie A, as Inter were pipped to the title by Napoli. Silverware tends to win players the Ballon d'Or, and Martinez, sadly, hasn't got any to show for 2024/25.

Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)

Mbappe may not have enjoyed the start to life at Real Madrid that he or the club's fans wanted, but he still scored his fair share of goals, and looked to have taken his game to another level after scoring a stunning hat-trick against Manchester City in February that was seen by many as a true announcement of his arrival at Santiago Bernabeu. A tally of 46 goals is incredible, but will it be enough given the club's failures in La Liga and Europe?

Scott McTominay (Napoli)

A first nomination, McTominay has gone from being bombed out of Manchester United to inspiring a title triumph and becoming a cult hero in Naples. Thirteen goals and six assists from deep in midfield is truly remarkable. He couldn't win this, could he?

Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)

Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain)

Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)

Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

Pedri (Barcelona)

Raphinha (Barcelona)

Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)

Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain)

Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)

Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)