Inside the Ballon d'Or 2025 voting: how football's biggest award is decided | OneFootball

Who will claim Ballon d’Or 2025? Paris prepares for football’s biggest night

Photo: Ballon d'Or - X

Football fans worldwide are counting down to the Ballon d’Or 2025 ceremony hosted by France Football on Monday 22 September at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.

The event begins at 6 pm. GMT and will reveal the winners of the most prestigious awards in world football.

How the winner is chosen

A 30 man shortlist was announced earlier with votes cast by 1 journalist from each of the top 100 FIFA ranked countries.

Each journalist ranks 10 player awarding 15 point to first place, 12 to second, 10 to third and so on. In case of a tie .. first place votes are decisive.

The evaluation period covers the 2024 /25 season, from 1 August 2024 to 13 July 2025 coinciding with the FIFA Club World cup final.

Frontrunners and key names

The race to succeed last year's winner Rodri appears to be narrowing. Paris Saint Germain star Ousmane Dembele & Barcelona's teenage sensation Lamine Yamal are widely tipped as leading contenders, though 30 name remain officially in the mix.

Beyond the trophy

Despite its symbolic value (an estimated 3000 euro trophy not made of pure gold) the Ballon d’or carries huge off field impact.

Victorious players often secure lucrative endorsements, bonuses from clubs and surge in market value.

Since its creation in 1956, the Ballon d’or's honored the greatest names in the game. The women’s version was introduced in 2018 with voting limited to journalists from the top 50 nation in FIFA's women's ranking.