Ballon d’Or 2025 picks: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah the favorite? NWSL stars in contention for women’s honors

The Ballon d’Or Shortlist arrives on Thursday with a host of the best football players in the world who will find out if they will be in the mix for the most famous price of the sport.

Most prices – but not the Kopa -Trophy – are determined by a panel of 100 journalists from the best football countries in the world. It is a select number, a group that changes on an annual basis, and this year it does not include CBS sports. We are not bitter or something, promise. Anyway, it will not stop us with our control.

First a comment about the procedure. We will follow the approach of the actual voters: a top 10 for the Ballon d’Es male and female, a top three for the Yashin trophy that is awarded to the best keeper, a top two for coach of the year, and our choice for Club of the Year. Since neither of us have won a balloon d’Or, we get no control over the winner of the Kopa trophy. Regarding what we judge, the prices are based on performance in the 2024-25 season, specifically from 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2025. So the ladies’ euros, for example, go a lot on our attention, for example. The club world cup too, although a competition from such a debate -table merit hardly the all and end of determining the best players in the game/ is

If you have followed our output in recent months, it will not surprise you who we have the top of the tree The race to win the Ballon d’Or. Mohamed Salah’s Status as a leader, to say the least, has been controversial. The Egyptian attacker did not win the Champions League, and most of his best work was done in the early months of the season, making it a stage for Liverpool To romp to a title, few expected them to be seriously in the mix for. In the end it is difficult to argue with a campaigns of 34-target, 23-assist, all the more when he matches Premier League records that were established in the course of 42-game seasons.

In pure output terms there is one player who comes close, Barcelona’s RaphinhaAnother who ended 2024-25 with performance that few could have imagined at the start of the season. He may have had more games to do it, but the Brazilian still corresponded to Cristiano Ronaldos Record of 21 goals contributions in a Champions League season, the type of high watermark that many would have thought turbulent. The best player in La Liga, also Raphinha would be a worthy winner, but you wonder like the budding sparkle of Lamine Yamal could split Barcelona’s mood.

However, none of those above players is the overwhelming favorite of the bookmakers. You should put down a lot to get good money back if you choose Ousmane DembeleThe brightest star of Paris The Champions League triumph from Saint-Germain. In the end, for many it is the rings and medals that count the most.

It will be intriguing to see if that translates into voting for the ladies Ballon d’Or too. Aitana Bonmati remains the favorite, and it is difficult to make much of a business against her or Alexia Putellas as the best player in the world. On the other hand, in the largest games of the season, those Barcelona teammates were defeated. Must one of Arsenal’s English players, perhaps Alessia Russo or Leah Williamson, are rated as the best player in the world because of what happened in the Champions League and Euro -final?

There is no good answer to that question. It is what makes the debate around the balloon d’O or so intriguing, often toxic and vague ridiculous (watching you, mugs Real Madrid). After all, this is a team sport, so the best individual player has won the biggest contribution to the winning team, or the one who has just delivered the biggest output? Are we Team 2017 Russell Westbrook or Kawhi Leonard? It is always more art than science, but at some point you have to decide. That time is now, so here is who we would vote for to win the 2025 Ballons d’Or:

Voice done by James Benge; Voice of women done by Pardeep Cattry.

Men’s balloon d’Or

1. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt)
2. Raphinha (Barcelona/Brazil)
3. Ousmane Dembele (PSG/France)
4. Khvicha kvaratskhelia (PSG and Napoli/Georgia)
5. Pedri (Barcelona/Spain)
6. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
7. Achraf Hakimi (PSG/Morocco)
8. Vitinha (PSG/Portugal)
9. Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
10. Cole Palmer (Chelsea/England)

Ladies Ballon d’Or

1. Alessia Russo (Arsenal/England)
2. Esther Gonzalez (Gotham FC/Spain)
3. Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC/Germany)
4. Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal/Spain)
5. Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona/Spain)
6. Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
7. Alexia Whores (Barcelona/Spain)
8. A collision (KC Current/Malawi)
9. Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride/Zambia)
10. Lucy Bronze (Chelsea/England)

Yashin trophy for women

1. Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC/Germany)
2. Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
3. Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)

Yashin trophy for men

1. Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
2. Alisson (Liverpool/Brazil)
3. David Raya (Arsenal/Spain)

Men’s coach of the year

1. Luis Enrique (PSG)
2. Hansi Flick (Barcelona)

Ladies coach of the year

1. Sarina Wiegman (England))
2. Seb Hines (Orlando Proud))
3. Renee Slegers (Arsenal)

Ladies club of the year

1. Orlando Proud

Men’s club of the year

1. Paris Saint-Germain