Today is the day: the Ballon d'Or nominees will be announced on Thursday, August 7, 2025. The ceremony will take place on September 22, 2025, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and it will be then when we'll know who will succeed Rodri Hernández as best footballer in men's football, and whether Aitana Bonmatí will manage to win her third consecutive trophy.
Remember that the time frame used by voters is the season between August 1, 2024, and July 31, 2025, matching the European calendar. That means it also includes men's Club World Cup and women's Euro and women's Copa América last month.
For the men's award, there doesn't seem to be a clear favourite: with Rodri out of the question due to his season-long injury, Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembélé, Raphinha, Vitinha, Mohamed Salah, all sound like firm candidates with enough merits. Even Cole Palmer, counting his recent Club World Cup success over almighty PSG could rank among favourites...
For women's award, Aitana Bonmatí could repeat, but her defeats with Barcelona in the Champions League and with Spain at UEFA Euro could open the door for some English talent from Arsenal like Chloe Kelly or Alessia Russo, although it's Mariona Caldentey who usually ranks higher in polls this year...
Time for Ballon d'Or nominations
Nominations will he announced throughout Thursday, starting at 11:30 BST, 12:30 CEST. However, don't expect to know every nominee all at once: tension will continue throughout the whole day, as new categories will be announced every fifteen minutes.
12:30 CEST: Women's Kopa Trophy (best young player under 21) - 5 nominees
12:45 CEST: Men's Kopa Trophy (best young player under 21) - 10 nominees
13:00 CEST: Women's Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper) - 5 nominees
13:15 CEST: Men's Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper) - 10 nominees
13:30 CEST: Women's Cruyff Trophy (best coach) - 5 nominees
13:45 CEST: Men's Cruyff Trophy (best coach) - 5 nominees
14:00 CEST: Women's Club of the Year - 5 nominees
14:15 CEST: Men's Club of the Year - 5 nominees
15:00 CEST: Women's Ballon d'Or - 30 nominees
15:15 CEST: Men's Ballon d'Or - 30 nominees
Times in Central European Summer Time, one hour earlier in the UK.