The main awards for the 2025 Ballon d’Or were won by Ousmane Dembélé and Aitana Bonmatí. Check out the results for all the categories for last year’s awards, as well as some of the likely contenders for the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
Rodri confounded the betting odds in 2024, when the Spaniard won the Ballon d’Or after Vinícius Júnior had been made a short-price favourite in the run-up to the award. However, the 2025 award winner was more expected, as the bookies’ favourite, Ousmane Dembélé, was awarded the trophy. Who will win in 2026?
Ballon d’Or key points
- The award ceremony takes place in September each year.
- UEFA has co-organised the Ballon d’Or with France Football since the 2024 awards.
- From 2025, the number of awards was increased to twelve to include the women’s Kopa Trophy and women’s Yashin Trophy.
- Since its inception in 1956, the 2020 edition was the only one not to take place, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ballon d’Or history
The Ballon d’Or was initially only awarded to players from Europe (from its first edition in 1956 until 1994). From 1995, it was widened to include players of any origin who had played for a European club. Then, in 2007, it was further expanded and became a global award.
Originally, the award was based on performance during a calendar year, but this was changed in 2022, and it is now determined based on a player’s performance during the previous season. The voting rules have also been changed, with the current system allowing one journalist from each country ranked in the top 100 of the FIFA Men’s World Ranking to cast a vote.
Ballon d’Or 2026 predictions
Over the years, the choice of trophy winner has not always been popular, and for many years it seemed impossible to break the dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. From 2008 to 2017, it was only those two legends of the game who gained the prestige of being named the Ballon d’Or winner. In that 10-year period, they each won the trophy five times.
In 2023/24, Erling Haaland had a season he will find hard to match, winning his second Golden Boot in the English Premier League and seeing his side, Manchester City, win their fourth domestic league title, after he had claimed the European Golden Shoe for 2022/23. However, that was still not enough for the Norwegian to win the Ballon d’Or, as Messi once again took the trophy, despite playing the last half of 2023 with Inter Miami in America.
Prior to 2024, Luka Modrić (2018) and Karim Benzema (2022) were the only two players outside of Messi and Ronaldo to have won the trophy since 2008. In 2024, Manchester City’s Rodri joined the exclusive list of winners, followed by Ousmane Dembélé of PSG in 2025.
So, who will be the likely contenders in 2026? After the end of the 2025/26 domestic season, Harry Kane is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or. The English striker scored 61 goals this season for his club side Bayern Munich across all competitions, as well as contributing seven assists. The only negative for Kane is that Bayern didn’t reach the UCL final.
Next in the betting are last year’s winner, Ousmane Dembélé, and Michael Olise. Whilst Dembélé’s season was disrupted by early injuries, he recovered to play a pivotal role in PSG’s second consecutive Champions League title. Meanwhile, Olise has had a standout season for Bayern Munich, contributing numerous goals and assists.
Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal was the early favourite for the trophy, after finishing runner-up in the main Ballon d’Or award in 2025 and winning the Kopa Trophy for the best young player for the last two years. His 16 goals and 11 assists helped his side, Barcelona, to the LaLiga title, although he did miss the last month of the season due to injury.
Kylian Mbappé will also be expected to be amongst the contenders after an excellent season at Real Madrid, in which he scored 25 goals in 31 games. The Frenchman excelled in the 2022 World Cup, including a hat-trick in the final, and will hope a good performance in the 2026 tournament will improve his Ballon d’Or chances.
PSG midfielder Vitinha finished third in last year’s Ballon d’Or and, after receiving the Player of the Match award as his side won their second successive Champions League trophy, must be in the running for the trophy again this year.
Other players featuring prominently in the betting include Declan Rice, Lionel Messi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Erling Haaland and Désiré Doué.
With 2026 being a World Cup year, each player’s form for their country, as well as their club side, is likely to be a big factor in deciding the outcome. Who can make a big impression in the 2026 World Cup and stake their claim for the Ballon d’Or 2026?
Ballon d’Or 2026 voting system
The list of 30 candidates for the Ballon d’Or is drawn up by the France Football magazine, which organises the gala and presents the award, alongside fellow French publication L’Equipe. Once the list has been drawn up, a committee of 100 sports journalists from FIFA’s 100 top-ranked member nations is responsible for voting, awarding 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 15 points to their ten chosen candidates, based on the following criteria: individual performances, decisive and impressive character, team performances and achievements, and class and fair play. The scoring system was changed in 2024, hence the total points awarded has increased significantly since that year.
2025 Ballon d’Or Gala Awards
The list of awards at the Ballon d’Or ceremony was expanded in 2025 with the collaboration of France Football and UEFA. In addition to the ten awards that were given out in 2024, the women’s Kopa Trophy and women’s Yashin Trophy have brought the total number of awards to twelve.
- Men’s Ballon d’Or
- Women’s Ballon d’Or
- Men’s Kopa Trophy
- Women’s Kopa Trophy
- Men’s Yashin Trophy
- Women’s Yashin Trophy
- Gerd Müller Trophy
- Sócrates Award
- Men’s Club of the Year
- Women’s Club of the Year
- Men’s Coach of the Year
- Women’s Coach of the Year
Although several of the awards are self-explanatory, the other awards are decided on the following basis:
- Kopa Trophy—presented to the best performing player under the age of 21 worldwide.
- Yashin Trophy—presented to the best performing goalkeeper.
- Gerd Müller Trophy—presented to the highest-scoring footballer for the previous season, taking into account goals scored for both clubs and national teams.
- Sócrates Award—presented to the footballer considered to have done the best humanitarian work worldwide.
Who are the top Ballon d’Or winners?
- Lionel Messi: eight trophies (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023)
- Cristiano Ronaldo: five trophies (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)
- Michel Platini: three trophies (1983, 1984, 1985)
- Johan Cruyff: three trophies (1971, 1973, 1974)
- Marco van Basten: three trophies (1988, 1989, 1992)
- Franz Beckenbauer: two trophies (1972, 1976)
- Ronaldo: two trophies (1997, 2002)
- Alfredo Di Stéfano: two trophies (1957, 1959)
- Kevin Keegan: two trophies (1978, 1979)
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: two trophies (1980, 1981)
Six previous men’s Ballon d’Or results
| 2018 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Luka Modrić | Real Madrid | 753 |
| Second | Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | 476 |
| Third | Antoine Griezmann | Atlético Madrid | 414 |
| 2019 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 686 |
| Second | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool | 679 |
| Third | Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | 476 |
| 2021 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain | 613 |
| Second | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 580 |
| Third | Jorginho | Chelsea | 460 |
| 2022 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 549 |
| Second | Sadio Mané | Bayern Munich | 193 |
| Third | Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | 175 |
| 2023 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | 462 |
| Second | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 357 |
| Third | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | 270 |
Note: a new scoring system was introduced in 2024.
| 2024 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Rodri | Manchester City | 1170 |
| Second | Vinícius Júnior | Real Madrid | 1129 |
| Third | Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | 917 |
| 2025 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ousmane Dembélé | Paris Saint-Germain | 1380 |
| Second | Lamine Yamal | Barcelona | 1059 |
| Third | Vitinha | Paris Saint-Germain | 703 |
Clubs whose players have won the Ballon d’Or the most times
- Barcelona: twelve trophies
- Real Madrid: twelve trophies
- Milan: eight trophies
- Juventus: eight trophies
- Bayern Munich: five trophies
- Manchester United: four trophies
Ballon d’Or—women’s category
To mark the growth of women’s football, France Football introduced the award for the best female footballer in the world in 2018. Seven editions have already been held, with Spanish football dominating the last five awards thanks to the triumphs of the Barcelona stars Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí.
Barcelona provided the first two players for the 2021 awards, the winner of the 2022 award, the first and third-placed women in 2023, and the top three players in 2024. In the 2025 Ballon d’Or, Aitana Bonmatí won the award for the third successive year.
Previous women’s Ballon d’Or results
| 2018 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ada Hegerberg | Lyon | 136 |
| Second | Pernille Harder | Wolfsburg | 130 |
| Third | Dzsenifer Marozsán | Lyon | 86 |
| 2019 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Megan Rapinoe | Seattle Reign | 230 |
| Second | Lucy Bronze | Lyon | 94 |
| Third | Alex Morgan | Orlando Pride | 68 |
| 2021 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Alexia Putellas | Barcelona | 186 |
| Second | Jennifer Hermoso | Barcelona | 84 |
| Third | Sam Kerr | Chelsea | 46 |
| 2022 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Alexia Putellas | Barcelona | 178 |
| Second | Beth Mead | Arsenal | 152 |
| Third | Sam Kerr | Chelsea | 74 |
| 2023 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Aitana Bonmatí | Barcelona | 266 |
| Second | Sam Kerr | Chelsea | 87 |
| Third | Salma Paralluelo | Barcelona | 49 |
Note: a new scoring system was introduced in 2024.
| 2024 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Aitana Bonmatí | Barcelona | 675 |
| Second | Caroline Graham Hansen | Barcelona | 392 |
| Third | Salma Paralluelo | Barcelona | 246 |
| 2025 | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Aitana Bonmatí | Barcelona | 506 |
| Second | Mariona Caldentey | Arsenal | 478 |
| Third | Alessia Russo | Arsenal | 420 |
The following lists detail the previous winners in all the other Ballon d’Or categories. This page will be updated once the nominations for the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards have been announced.
Previous men’s Kopa Trophy winners
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2019 | Matthijs de Ligt | Ajax/Juventus |
| 2020 | Not held | N/A |
| 2021 | Pedri | Barcelona |
| 2022 | Gavi | Barcelona |
| 2023 | Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund |
| 2024 | Lamine Yamal | Barcelona |
| 2025 | Lamine Yamal | Barcelona |
Previous women’s Kopa Trophy winner
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Vicky López | Barcelona |
Previous men’s Yashin Trophy winners
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Alisson | Liverpool |
| 2020 | Not held | N/A |
| 2021 | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Milan/PSG |
| 2022 | Thibaut Courtois | Real Madrid |
| 2023 | Emiliano Martínez | Aston Villa |
| 2024 | Emiliano Martínez | Aston Villa |
| 2025 | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Paris Saint-Germain |
Previous women’s Yashin Trophy winner
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Hannah Hampton | Chelsea |
Previous men’s Club of the Year winners
| Year | Club | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Chelsea | England |
| 2022 | Manchester City | England |
| 2023 | Manchester City | England |
| 2024 | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 2025 | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
Previous women’s Club of the Year winners
| Year | Club | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Barcelona | Spain |
| 2024 | Barcelona | Spain |
| 2025 | Arsenal | England |
Previous men’s Coach of the Year winners
| Year | Coach | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Carlo Ancelotti | Real Madrid |
| 2025 | Luis Enrique | Paris Saint-Germain |
Previous women’s Coach of the Year winners
| Year | Coach | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Emma Hayes | Chelsea/United States |
| 2025 | Sarina Wiegman | England |
Sócrates Award
This award is given based on the best humanitarian work done by a footballer worldwide. There are no nominations.
Previous Sócrates Award winners
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Sadio Mané | Liverpool |
| 2023 | Vinícius Júnior | Real Madrid |
| 2024 | Jennifer Hermoso | Tigres UANL |
| 2025 | Xana Foundation (Luis Enrique) | Paris Saint-Germain |
Gerd Müller Trophy
This trophy is awarded to the highest-scoring footballer from the previous season. considering goals scored both for their club and national teams.
Previous Gerd Müller Trophy winners
| Year | Player | Club | Country | Total Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | Poland | 69 |
| 2022 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | Poland | 57 |
| 2023 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | Norway | 56 |
| 2024= | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | England | 52 |
| 2024= | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | France | 52 |
| 2025 | Viktor Gyökeres | Sporting Lisboa | Portugal | 63 |
Follow the best predictions for the Ballon d’Or and discover who will be crowned the best footballers in the world in 2026.
Check the Marathonbet Sportsbook for all the latest football odds from leagues and competitions taking place around the world.
You can also read about all the important sporting competitions, including previews, tips and predictions, and much more, in our blog.
