Ballon d'Or: Dembélé in pole position for men, Baltimore and Mateo nominated for women

As expected, European champions Paris Saint-Germain are heavily represented in the 2025 edition of the men's Ballon d'Or. The list of nominees, unveiled this Thursday, August 7, includes nine PSG players, including favorite Ousmane Dembélé and hopeful Désiré Doué, also nominated for the youth team. According to L'Equipe , only Real Madrid had done as well in 2018, in a list of 30 players.

PSG has even been nominated for the "Best Men's Club of the Year" category. Also on the French side, French national team and Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé is obviously on the list, as is Bayern Munich's young player, Michael Olise . Along with other stars such as Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland , Lamine Yamal , another favorite, has been nominated twice, for best player and best young player, for the first time in his career.

Challenge

On the women's side, French players Sandy Baltimore and Clara Mateo are among the 30 players nominated for the Women's Ballon d'Or. Baltimore, who won the Premier League with Chelsea, earns her first nomination at 25, as does Mateo, the top scorer in the French league with Paris FC.

Among the contenders, we unsurprisingly find Aitana Bonmati, two-time Ballon d'Or winner and best player at the recent Euro, among five Spanish women, including fellow Barcelona player Alexia Putellas, twice awarded in 2021 and 2022. The English women, who beat Spain in the Euro final last month, also have five, including Lean Williamson and Chloe Kelly, two players from Arsenal, the most represented club with seven nominees. Brazilian Marta is also in the mix. With her latest Copa America title under her belt, at 39, she is the oldest on this list.