Who are the favourites for the Ballon d’Or ahead of tonight’s ceremony? | OneFootball

The Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place tonight and PSG forward Ousmane Dembele is the favourite to pick up the France Football award in Paris. Who else is in the mix and how are the main women’s awards lining up?

Dembele is the bookmakers’ pick to win the prestigious award after a brilliant last season which saw PSG win Ligue 1, the Champions League and reach the final of the Club World Cup.

Dembele registered 48 goal contributions in all competitions and managed two assists in PSG’s 5-0 rout against Inter Milan in the Champions League final.

Who are the Frenchman’s closest competitors for the coveted individual award?

Lamine Yamal

Yamal took European football by storm last season as Barcelona also reclaimed the La Liga title from Real Madrid. He registered 37 goal contributions across all competitions for Barcelona but only scored nine league goals, which somewhat weakens his case.

There is, however, no doubt that if the 18-year-old remains on his current trajectory he will be in the mix for Ballon d’Ors for many years to come.

Raphinha

Raphinha, who played for Leeds United only three years ago, is a strong contender to pick up the most prestigious individual award in football after a stellar campaign which saw him manage 53 goal contributions, including an incredible 13 goals in the Champions League as Barcelona reached the semi-finals before losing 4-3 to Inter in an incredible tie.

If the award was based solely on individual campaigns rather than also trophies won, it would be difficult to argue that Raphina is not the worthy winner. But the fact that Dembele won the Champions League gives him a clear edge.

Vitinha

There had to be another PSG player on this list after their dazzling season, and Vitinha was simply outstanding for Luis Enrique’s side, and for his national team Portugal.

He has won all of the same trophies as Dembele but also has the UEFA Nations League in his impressive arsenal.

The midfielder was integral to everything that PSG did last term and his partnership with Joao Neves and Fabio Ruiz was – and continues to be – the heartbeat for everything that Enrique’s side do.

PSG were supposed to play a Ligue 1 game against Marseille the night before the awards but it was suspended due to extreme weather conditions and has been rescheduled for the same time as the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

As such, what would likely have been a big turnout from the PSG continent at the event in Paris will be heavily reduced. Only Dembele, Vitinha and Desire Doue are the players authorised to attend.

Women’s awards

Mariona Caldentey, Alexia Putellas, Alessia Russo and Aitana Bonmati are the favourites for the Ballon d’Or Féminin, which also takes place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday evening.

Arsenal and Spain’s Caldentey is the outstanding candidate for the award after scoring 23 goal contributions in all competitions last season, winning the Champions League and being named WSL Player of the Year.

Russo is the English player with the best chance of winning the Ballon d’Or Féminin, after winning the Champions League with Arsenal and the Euros with England.

Arsenal are the favourites to be named Team of the Year among club sides after winning the Champions League against Barcelona in Lisbon.

On the prospect of winning that award, Arsenal manager Renee Slegers said: “Let’s see first what happens on Monday and then we can speak. Very proud, of course, on the nomination. I think the club is doing a lot of good things on all fronts, so I’m very proud.”