Ballon d'Or 2025: Arsenal and Chelsea stars among nominees as shortlists revealed | OneFootball

Ballon d'Or 2025: Arsenal and Chelsea stars among nominees as shortlists revealed | OneFootball

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Evening Standard

·7 August 2025

Ballon d'Or 2025: Arsenal and Chelsea stars among nominees as shortlists revealed

Article image:Ballon d'Or 2025: Arsenal and Chelsea stars among nominees as shortlists revealed

Jude Bellingham and Scott McTominay also up for award

Holders: Aitana Bonmati and Rodri


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Article image:Ballon d'Or 2025: Arsenal and Chelsea stars among nominees as shortlists revealed

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The nominees for this year’s Ballon D’Or have been announced ahead of the ceremony next month.

The Ballon D’Or is the pinnacle individual award in football, crowning the best players in the world on both the men’s and women’s sides.

On the men’s side, there are eight Premier League representatives within the shortlist, with a current English top-flight player, Rodri, the holder of the award.

There are three other British names among the nominees who play their football overseas.

Premier League top scorer Mohamed Salah has made the list after a stunning season that saw him net 34 goals and assist 23 times in 52 games as Liverpool won the league title.

Erling Haaland scored 34 in 48 for Manchester City and is in contention once more, while there is also recognition for some of London’s top talents, such as Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, while the Gunners’ latest signing Viktor Gyokeres is also among the candidates after a stellar season at Sporting Lisbon.

Alexis Mac Allister and Virgil van Dijk join Salah on the shortlist after their superb displays in Liverpool’s Premier League title win, while the Reds’ latest £100million man Florian Wirtz is also among the 30.

As for the Brits abroad contingent, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane are in the mix, while Napoli’s Scott McTominay makes it in after an excellent first term in Italy since his move from Manchester United.

The Scotland international scored 13 goals in 39 games for Antonio Conte’s side as they lifted the Serie A title.

Nine of Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League-winning squad have made the shortlist, while Vinicius Junior, who snubbed the ceremony last year in protest at Rodri’s victory over him, is also among the 30. Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal completes the list.

As for the women, there are five Lionesses out of the 30, while the holder Aitana Bonmati, beaten in the Euro 2025 final by Sarina Wiegman’s England, is back on the shortlist.

Striker Alessia Russo is in there, and so is Chelsea’s Lucy Bronze, who played through the Euro 2025 triumph with a broken tibia.

Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton - who is also up for the ‘Yachine Trophy’ for best women’s goalkeeper - is in the running for the big award, while Chloe Kelly, the hero in the final, and captain Leah Williamson complete the quintet.

As for Women’s Super League representatives, there are 11 - including the five Lionesses - with the remaining six being Chelsea’s Sandy Baltimore, who scored nine goals in 29 in her first season for the Blues, and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey, Emily Fox, Steph Catley, and Frida Leonhardsen Maanum.

Rytting Kaneryd played 21 times for Chelsea last term, scoring four times, while Caldentey notched nine in 21 for the Gunners. Fox starred at right-back for Arsenal, and Steph Catley was a similar rock at the back for the north Londoners, who lifted the Women’s Champions League. Maanum scored nine goals across the WSL and Champions League.

Full men’s Ballon d’Or nominees

  • Ousmane Dembele (PSG & France)
  • Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG & Italy)
  • Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid & England)
  • Desire Doue (PSG & France)
  • Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan & Netherlands)
  • Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund & Guinea)
  • Erling Haaland (Man City & Norway)
  • Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal & Sweden)
  • Achraf Hakimi (PSG & Morocco)
  • Harry Kane (Bayern Munich & England)
  • Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG & Georgia)
  • Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
  • Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool & Argentina)
  • Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan & Argentina)
  • Scott McTominay (Napoli & Scotland)
  • Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid & France)
  • Nuno Mendes (PSG & Portugal)
  • Joao Neves (PSG & Portugal)
  • Pedri (Barcelona & Spain)
  • Cole Palmer (Chelsea & England)
  • Michael Olise (Bayern Munich & France)
  • Raphinha (Barcelona & Brazil)
  • Declan Rice (Arsenal & England)
  • Fabian Ruiz (PSG & Spain)
  • Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands)
  • Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid & Brazil)
  • Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
  • Florian Wirtz (Liverpool & Germany)
  • Vitinha (PSG & Portugal)
  • Lamine Yamal (Barcelona & Spain)

Full women’s Ballon d’Or nominees

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