The 2025 Ballon d’Or gala will take place on September 22 at the usual venue, the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, according to France Football.
The celebration of the event is brought forward by a month compared to recent editions, which had taken place at the end of October. The big news will be parity in the distribution of prizes: all the trophies that existed only for men will now also be awarded to women (best goalkeeper, best young player, top scorer).
The names of the nominated players will not be known until the first half of August, once the Club World Cup and the Nations League Final Four have been completed.
This edition is characterized by the fact that there is no clear favorite. It is therefore the most open and unpredictable in recent times. There are several names that are being mentioned. Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Ousmane Dembele, Lautaro Martinez, Harry Kane, Pedri, Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe…
The criteria for awarding the Ballon d’Or
The mechanics of the gala are as follows. France Football, the organiser of the award, chooses the 30 candidates to win the trophy, who will be put to the vote. The jury for the men’s award is made up of 100 journalists, while for the women’s Ballon d’Or there are 50 journalists eligible to vote. Each journalist must choose a top 10, each position of which gives points to the designated player. The player with the most points will be the winner of the Ballon d’Or.
Three hierarchical criteria will be taken into account. Firstly, individual performances. Secondly, the collective aspect and the trophies won. Finally, fair play. The criterion related to the professional career disappeared from the 2024 edition.
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