On a breathlessly glitzy night in Paris, Ousmane Dembélé won the men’s Ballon d’Or award for the first time. It was a victory that brought the audience in a fever‑pitch – Théâtre du Châtelet to their feet, reward both for Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph and Dembélé’s own stellar form since Christmas.
Otherwise it was a night of flowers and gongs for English football in Paris as the women’s game swept the opening half of the ceremony. There were awards for the England head coach, Sarina Wiegman, the England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and Arsenal, the Champions League winners, as club of the year. Such was the degree of Anglo-dominance in the opening hour there were even scattered boos from the Parisian crowd as Arsenal’s – players went up to receive their gong.
Alessia Russo had been hotly tipped to take the top individual women’s award, which would have made her a first British winner since Michael Owen in 2001. In the event the award was won by Aitana Bonmatí for the third successive year.
From early in the evening the Théâtre du Châtelet was crammed to its steeply tiered gods with gleamingly attired footballers, power brokers, legends, hangers-on and the usual indeterminate men in flamboyant tuxedos. And there was an early flush of excitement as the men’s Kopa trophy for best young player was won for the second year running by Lamine Yamal, present in a deliciously soft and shiny deep suit and immaculate bleach rinse.
Quick Guide
Ballon d’Or 2025: all the big winners
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Ballon d’Or
• Ousmane Dembéle (PSG/France)
• Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona/Spain)
Kopa Trophy
• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/France)
• Vicky López (Barça/Spain)
Johan Cruyff Trophy
• Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
• Sarina Wiegman (England)
Yashin Award
• Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Man City/Italy)
• Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
Gerd Müller Trophy
• Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting/Arsenal/Sweden)
• Ewa Pajor (Barcelona/Poland)
Club of the Year
• PSG (men’s team)
• Arsenal (women’s team)
Socrates Award
• Xana Foundation
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The women’s Kopa trophy was won by Vicky López, also of Barcelona, who dedicated the prize to her mother who died when Vicky was 11 years old.
After which, the English arrived. First up Wiegman won the Johan Cruyff award for top female coach, recognition of her success in winning Euro 2025 this summer. Wiegman thanked her staff and players for their support during an “absolutely insane” tournament, then went against the prevailing neutral tone of the ceremony, using the platform to speak about the need to remain vigilant as the game grows.
Sarina Wiegman won the Johan Cruyff award for top female coach. Photograph: Mohammed Badra/EPA
“I see this award as a recognition of the women’s game and of our journey and where we have come to so far. With that growth comes responsibility. We have to take that responsibility and try to keep our industry welcoming and inclusive, a place where everyone belongs. I hope we can keep fighting together against misogyny and racism. Football should always be united and never divided.”
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Quick Guide
Ballon d’Or: men’s top 30 in full
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1. Ousmane Dembélé (PSG & France)
2. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona & Spain)
3. Vitinha (PSG & Portugal)
4. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
5. Raphinha (Barcelona & Brazil)
6. Achraf Hakimi (PSG & Morocco)
7. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid & France)
8. Cole Palmer (Chelsea & England)
9. Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Man City & Italy)
10. Nuno Mendes (PSG & Portugal)
11. Pedri (Barcelona & Spain)
12. Khvicha Kvaratshkelia (Napoli/PSG & Georgia)
13. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich & England)
14. Désire Doué (PSG & France)
15. Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting/Arsenal & Sweden)
16. Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid & Brazil)
17. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
18. Scott McTominay (Napoli & Scotland)
19. João Neves (PSG & Portugal)
20. Lautaro Martínez (Inter & Argentina)
21. Serhou Guirassy (Dortmund & Guinea)
22. Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool & Argentina)
23. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid & England)
24. Fabian Ruiz (PSG & Spain)
25. Denzel Dumfries (Inter & Netherlands)
26. Erling Haaland (Manchester City & Norway)
27. Declan Rice (Arsenal & England)
28. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands)
29. Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen/Liverpool & Germany)
30. Michael Olise (Bayern Munich & France)
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Hampton of Chelsea and England won the women’s Yashin Trophy for goalkeeper of the year and dedicated the moment to women’s goalkeeping achieving parity with men’s in receiving the award on the same stage. She also paid an emotional tribute to Matt Beard, the former Liverpool FC Women manager who died last week. Manchester City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma won the men’s goalkeeping award, for which he was billed as a Paris Saint-Germain player, but hey it’s Paris and nobody here was going to nitpick.
Quick Guide
Ballon d’Or: women’s top 30 in full
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1. Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona & Spain)
2. Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal & Spain)
3. Alessia Russo (Arsenal & England)
4. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain)
5. Chloe Kelly (Arsenal & England)
6. Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona & Spain)
7. Leah Williamson (Arsenal & England)
8. Ewa Pajor (Barcelona & Poland)
9. Lucy Bronze (Chelsea & England)
10. Hannah Hampton (Chelsea & England)
11. Clàudia Pina (Spain & Barcelona)
12. Marta Pride & Brazil)
13. Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona & Norway)
14. Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride & Zambia)
15. Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea & France)
16. Cristiana Girelli (Juventus & Italy)
17. Temwa Chawinga (KC Current & Malawi)
18. Melchie Dumornay (Lyon & Haiti)
19. Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich & Germany)
20. Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich & Denmark)
21. Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras & Brazil)
22. Esther González (Gotham FC & Spain)
23. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea & Sweden)
24. Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit & Italy)
25. Emily Fox (Arsenal & USA)
26. Lindsey Heaps (Lyon & USA)
27. Clara Mateo (Paris FC & France)
28. Frida Leonhardsen-Maanum (Arsenal & Norway)
29. Steph Catley (Arsenal & Australia)
30. Caroline Weir (Real Madrid & Scotland)
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Arsenal’s Viktor Gyökeres won the Gerd Müller trophy as the highest-scoring European men’s player, successor to Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane.
The Ballon d’Or’s list of nominees is compiled by journalists from France Football and L’Équipe. After the selection is complete, one football journalist from each country in the top 100 of Fifa’s world rankings is asked to give a top 10. Those points are then divvied up to give a top three. In the women’s Ballon the process is the same but from the top 50 nations in the rankings.
