The Ballon d’Or caused plenty of controversy last year, with Rodri pipping Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior to the post, and once again there’s a large contingent of stars playing their way into the shortlist ahead of October’s awards.
Rodri’s season-ending injury, combined with Manchester City’s poor season means the Spaniard won’t be close to it this term, but the bookies are already lining up plenty of names.
It’s perhaps going to be one of the tightest run contests so far, and could well be determined by the winner of the Champions League in little over a month’s time. That always makes it an interesting punt at this stage and you can find some good value odds across many bookies, from the big names to some of the newer, more interesting sites, whether you’ve just read a review of Melbet and want to make your Ballon d’Or call, or any other found on sites like MightyTips.
The question is, where do you put your money though? Well, the resident expert, Kate Richardson, runs down her early Ballon d’Or 2025 power rankings…
Updated 2025 Ballon d’Or Power Rankings
Raphinha
Raphinha was plying his trade towards the foot of the Premier League only a few years ago, but the 28-year-old’s career has skyrocketed since his move to Barcelona in the summer of 2022.
He’s hit a real purple patch this season, having netted almost 30 goals, at the time of writing, and put in some stunning performances, particularly in the Champions League.
In the competition, he’s surpassing the numbers posted by Lionel Messi in 2011/12, with Stephen Warnock saying during Match of the Day, “It is phenomenal. It is breathtaking when you put him in the same bracket as Messi with four games potentially remaining.”
It’s Ballon d’Or form, all right.
Ousmane Dembele
For many years Ousmane Dembele’s stock has been falling, but in a resurgent Paris Saint Germain team he’s really thriving. Just look at his stats (as of April 15):
- Games: 41
- Goals: 32
- Assists: 10
It’s already the Frenchman’s best return in his career, and the 27-year-old could finally get the ultimate plaudits. The bookies are pricing him as second favourite to do so and should his side go on to win the Champions League, it could well catapult him to the leader of the pack.
Luis Enrique is certainly getting the best out of him, having moved him from the wing into more of a traditional number nine role, and with Ligue 1 sewn up, it’s all-in for earning that first major European trophy.
Kylian Mbappe
Dembele has benefitted from Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid, and his fellow countryman has certainly hit the ground running in Galactico white.
He’s bagged 33 goals so far this season and proven why he’s one of the world’s best. However, trophies could pass him by this season, which may have an impact on his chance of securing a first Ballon d’Or.
While the striker is third favourite with the bookies to secure it, and he has had a tremendous season, he’s firmly behind the two mentioned above, while the likes of Mo Salah and Lamine Yamal may also push ahead of him come the end of term.
Read Also: Kylian Mbappe set to snub Real Madrid for PSG
He’s one to watch though and a bit of an outsider, so could well be worth a punt.
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool fans won’t care one jot as to whether Salah wins the Ballon d’Or or not, they’ll just be delighted he’s signed a two-year-contract extension, with the Egyptian’s future uncertain until recently.
Salah arguably had his best season in a red shirt with Rio Ferdinand claiming, “Right now at this moment in time, I don’t think there’s anyone else on the podium with him.”
He’s been instrumental in Liverpool pulling away from the pack in the Premier League, and they will surely confirm their Champions status in the coming weeks. During that time, he’s found his best return for the club with 27 goals and 18 assists in just 32 games, a Premier League record. While that’s just shy of his 32 goals in 2017/18, he still has several games to make up that number, of which he surely will to further that record.
Lamine Yamal
Lamine Yamal has yet to even hit 18-years-old but he’s still in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or. The Barcelona winger looks set to win La Liga with his team, and has an excellent chance of a Champions League trophy too, of which he’ll have played a crucial role in earning.
He’s been an ever-present in Hansi Flick’s team this season and has 35 goal involvements in just 43 games currently. That’s some return and even if he doesn’t win it this time round, it almost feels an impossibility that he won’t at some stage in his career.
That’s providing he continues to perform at the level he is today. Moves to Manchester City and Saudi Arabia have been mooted, but it feels that Barcelona could be on a journey to another football dynasty, and Yamal will be central to that.
Who’ll pick up the gong?
It’s still a little too early to be giving anyone the Ballon d’Or for 2025, there’s still plenty of this season and next to play, while the FIFA Club World Cup is nestled in between that.
However, while the likes of Harry Kane and Vinicius may be trailing off, the players mentioned above are beginning to pull away from the pack and what is a guarantee is that there will be a brand new name on the award. And that can’t be bad for our beautiful game.
Who that will be, the jury is out, but it’s certainly a good time to start placing your bets and get excited for what will be a high-quality run-in.
The article was provided by Kate Richardson