Ballon d'Or 2025 contenders as Ousmane Dembele vs Lamine Yamal debate rages | OneFootball

Young stars are favourites for top individual award

It would be a surprise if it was not a Paris Saint-Germain player walking up onto the stage to be presented with the Ballon d'Or on Monday night.

The race to win football's most prestigious award has become far more intriguing now the era of dominance from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is over.

Rodri pipped Vinicius Junior in the voting last year and that sparked a furious response from Real Madrid, who boycotted the event.

Standard Sport takes a look at those who are in contention to pick up the award this year...

Who are the favourites?

Ousmane Dembele appears to be the man to beat this year.

The Frenchman enjoyed a stellar campaign, scoring 35 goals and registering 16 assists across all competitions as PSG won the Champions League and Ligue 1.

PSG sporting director Luis Campos said: "If Ousmane doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or, it’s because the people who voted don’t have the competence to vote for the Ballon d’Or.

"If he was called Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, there would be no discussion."

Favourite: Ousmane Dembele

AFP via Getty Images

The main threat to Dembele winning the award for the first time is Barcelona star Lamine Yamal.

That would be a record-breaking achievement. Ronaldo Nazario is currently the youngest winner of the award - he was 21 when he came out on top in the voting in 1997.

Yamal shone last season and Barcelona won La Liga and made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they lost a thrilling tie to Inter Milan. The teenager finished the campaign with 18 goals and 25 assists.

In contention: Lamine Yamal

Getty Images

Who else is in the running?

He has naturally gone more under the radar than Dembele and Yamal, but PSG midfielder Vitinha was integral to his side's success.

The midfielder was an ever-present in the team and was then named the second best player at the Club World Cup in the summer. Vitinha also won the Nations League with Portugal.

So too did Nuno Mendes, who was selected as the player of the finals for his performances in his country's success in the summer.

The 23-year-old established himself as the best left-back in the world during the Champions League run, shining against the likes of Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka.

Raphinha is also a contender after the best season of his career. The Barcelona winger has 56 goal involvements in all competitions, including scoring five goals in the campaign against Real Madrid and a hat-trick against Bayern Munich.

With the shortlist dominated by PSG and Barcelona players, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Pedri and Gianluigi Donnarumma are also in the running.

What about Premier League players?

Liverpool have Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister on the shortlist after they won the Premier League last season.

Erling Haaland has also been nominated, along with Declan Rice, Cole Palmer and Viktor Gyokeres, for his performances while at Sporting.

While Palmer was superb at the Club World Cup, Salah is the most realistic hope of a Premier League player winning the Ballon d'Or for the first time since Ronaldo in 2008.

Shortlisted: Cole Palmer

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The Egyptian registered a remarkable 29 goals and 18 assists in the Premier League, though Liverpool's last-16 exit in the Champions League could count against him.

Salah has never previously finished better than fifth in the Ballon d'Or voting but that could certainly be improved on this year.