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The Ballon d’Or award ceremony will take place on October 27th. In early September, the 30 nominees who have been shortlisted to compete for this top football honor will be announced. The voting is a lengthy and rigorous process. It’s designed to give a balanced opinion on the best player in the world.
A jury of football journalists representing the top 100 nations in the FIFA Men’s Ranking decides the Ballon d’Or. Each member of jury chooses ten players, in ascending order. Their top selection receives 15 and their 10th choice only 1 point.
The points are totaled, and the player with the highest number of points at the end is declared the winner. The following are some of the most effective ways to get started: At least Harry Kane, Vinicius Senior, Declan Rice, Arsenal and Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan deserve a mention. These players will be on the shortlist of 30.
The Ballon d’Or records of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo will be very difficult to surpass anytime soon. Messi has the most Ballon d’Or trophies, with eight. Ronaldo is the five-time winner and also holds the most nominations.
Here are the top seven players most likely to receive the prestigious Ballon d’Or for its 69th edition in ascending orders.
7 – Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)
Mbappe may have ranked seventh because he had a slow season with 33 goals and 5 assists. It was clear that his fans were expecting more from him, but it wasn’t until later in the year that he surpassed expectations and shocked the world with a hat trick against Manchester City. His chances of winning the prize dwindled after his team lost their Champions League title to Arsenal. He may not have won the top prize, but he can still win the Gerd Muller Trophy for the best striker of the world. Harry Kane from Bayern Munich is also the runner-up, with 41 goals and 12 assist.
6 – Pedri (Barcelona)
Many experts believe that despite his lackluster numbers (five goals and 8 assists), he is still deserving of the Ballon d’Or. For the first time in many years, he was completely injury free this season. The Barcelona midfield pillar has still a few opportunities to prove what a huge star he truly is.
5 – Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
He has yet to win the Ballon d’Or despite being the top scorer in several European teams. He was robbed by many in 2020. Let’s not get into the controversies. Let’s instead highlight his 42 goals, yes, 42, this season along with five assists and the Spanish Super Cup. In 2024, he was surprisingly not included in the Ballon d’Or’s shortlist. It’s a surprise that he was not included in the Ballon d’Or shortlist for 2024. He’s had a great season, but there is one more game where he can shock the world.
4 – Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
With 35 goals and 24 assists this season, there is very little else you can say about this exceptional player called ‘The Egyptian King,’ and oh my, he does deserve that alias. The fact that he did not score against PSG in both legs dropped him in the rankings for the Ballon d’Or. He may still win the African Ballon d’Or in the near future, but it’s not going to be his season.
3 – Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
Lamine’s third position is something of a toss-up. He’s fighting for this position against Mohamed Salah. For now, he is here. He has scored 15 goals and made 23 assists. He is only seventeen years old! Since the award’s inception, there has never been a player who won the Ballon d’Or under 21. He still has three years left to break a record if he doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or. Many experts describe him as the best attacking player in La Liga. Lamine, if not the Ballon d’Or is a strong contender for the Kopa Trophy. This trophy is awarded at the same event and goes to the best under-21 player.
2 – Ousmane Dembele (PSG)
Dembele has a great wing. He finishes the season with 10 assists and 34 goals. He won Ligue 1 as well as Trophee Des Champions. Since leaving Borussia Dortmund for Barcelona the French player has more frustrated his fans than made them happy, despite having rare abilities. Dembele, however, seems to have discovered his game in the second year with Paris Saint-Germain. He may be able do what Messi, Neymar, and Kylian MBappe did not: win the Champions League at PSG.
1 – Raphinha (Barcelona)
He’s the number one choice of several sports media outlets. Although there was some debate initially, his performance in the last few weeks has been outstanding, proving that he truly is the best. Raphinha scored 35 goals for Barcelona in 2024-2025, while also providing 23 assists. This is according to Goal. He is without a doubt Barcelona’s most decisive forward. Barca almost signed Nico Williams, the former Leeds United left winger, last year. But they are now extremely glad they didn’t. Raphinha showed what a great winner he was by being the one Barcelona player who personally greeted each Real Madrid player after his team won the Copa del Rey on Saturday.
