PSG's Ousmane Dembele lived up to his status as the bookmakers' favourite by taking home the big prize for 2025, edging out Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal, while Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati won her third consecutive Ballon d'Or Feminin.
Organised by France Football magazine each autumn for the previous season, the Ballon d'Or recognises the elite footballer of the past 12 months. Click here for all the 2025 from Theatre du Chatelet on Monday 22 September.
Ballon d'Or 2026 winner odds
Attention immediately turns to who will win the award in 2026. Can Dembele retain the prize? Will Yamal take his revenge? Will Mohamed Salah finally be recognise for his Liverpool exploits? Let's look at the latest Ballon d'Or 2026 bookmaker odds.
| Player | Club | Odds |
| Lamine Yamal | Barcelona | 4/1 |
| Kylian Mbappe | Real Madrid | 6/1 |
| Ousmane Dembele | PSG | 14/1 |
| Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 16/1 |
| Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 16/1 |
| Erling Haaland | Man City | 16/1 |
| Michael Olise | Bayern Munich | 20/1 |
| Vinicius Jr | Real Madrid | 20/1 |
| Vitinha | PSG | 20/1 |
| Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | 20/1 |
| Pedri | Barcelona | 20/1 |
| Raphinha | Barcelona | 22/1 |
| Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | 33/1 |
Who is the favourite to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or?
Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal is the bookmakers' favourite to go one better than his second place in 2025 and win the 2026 Ballon d'Or (4/1 on BetVictor). Kylian Mbappe is sandwiched between this year's top two at 6/1, while Dembele can be backed at a best price of 14/1. England captain Harry Kane and Man City marksman Erling Haaland are well placed at 16/1 before a whole host of superstars at 20/1 (less than 5% implied chance). Lionel Messi is 33/1, while Cristiano Ronaldo is 50/1 on Sky Bet.
How is the Ballon d'Or decided? Explaining criteria
There are three main criteria that France Football has instructed voters to consider when crafting their list of potential winners:
- Individual performance, decisive impact, and impressive character
- Team achievements and collective success
- Sportsmanship and the player's class, on and off the pitch
This means that not only does an individual's raw output matter, but also how well they contribute to their team's collective success, and the manner in which they conduct themselves.
What is NOT meant to be considered is past achievements or global status. Thus, players who have won the award before are not supposed to be given a higher platform simply because of career success beyond the indicated time period.
The Ballon d'Or, in theory, is meant simply to recognise the best player from the given time period and nothing more. That given time period has changed in recent years, however. Originally meant to produce the best player from the last calendar year, France Football recently changed the consideration timeframe to fit the European season. Thus, consideration is taken from the start of August through the end of the competitive summer tournaments.
Who won Ballon d'Or 2025?
Going into the ceremony, it was no surprise to see the betting dominated almost exclusively by members of the teams who made it furthest in last season's UEFA Champions League. Here's where the 30 nominees finished in the final rankings.
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Club |
| WINNER | Ousmane Dembele | France | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2. | Lamine Yamal | Spain | Barcelona |
| 3. | Vitinha | Portugal | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 4. | Mohamed Salah | Egypt | Liverpool |
| 5. | Raphinha | Brazil | Barcelona |
| 6. | Achraf Hakimi | Morocco | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 7. | Kylian Mbappe | France | Real Madrid |
| 8. | Cole Palmer | England | Chelsea |
| 9. | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Italy | Paris Saint-Germain/Man City |
| 10. | Nuno Mendes | Portugal | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 11. | Pedri | Spain | Barcelona |
| 12. | Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | Georgia | Napoli/Paris Saint-Germain |
| 13. | Harry Kane | England | Bayern Munich |
| 14. | Desire Doue | France | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 15. | Viktor Gyokeres | Sweden | Sporting CP/Arsenal |
| 16. | Vinicius Junior | Brazil | Real Madrid |
| 17. | Robert Lewandowski | Poland | Barcelona |
| 18. | Scott McTominay | Scotland | Napoli |
| 19. | Joao Neves | Portugal | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 20. | Lautaro Martinez | Argentina | Inter Milan |
| 21. | Serhou Guirassy | Guinea | Borussia Dortmund |
| 22. | Alexis Mac Allister | Argentina | Liverpool |
| 23. | Jude Bellingham | England | Real Madrid |
| 24. | Fabian Ruiz | Spain | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 25. | Denzel Dumfries | Netherlands | Inter Milan |
| 26. | Erling Haaland | Norway | Manchester City |
| 27. | Declan Rice | England | Arsenal |
| 28 | Virgil van Dijk | Netherlands | Liverpool |
| 29. | Florian Wirtz | Germany | Bayer Leverkusen/Liverpool |
| 30. | Michael Olise | France | Bayern Munich |
Other Men's awards
- Kopa Trophy: Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
- Men's Coach of the Year: Luis Enrique (PSG)
- Yashin Trophy: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy, PSG)
- Gerd Muller Award: Viktor Gyokeres (Sweden, Sporting CP)
- Men's Club of the Year: Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Who won Ballon d'Or Feminin 2025?
As well as the Ballon d'Or for the best male player of the year, the ceremony in Paris also saw the best female player crowned for 2025 with the Feminin award. England's victorious Euro-winning Lionesses were well represented but it was ultimately a three-peat for Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati.
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Club |
| WINNER | Aitana Bonmati | Spain | Barcelona |
| 2. | Mariona Caldentey | Spain | Arsenal |
| 3. | Alessia Russo | England | Arsenal |
| 4. | Alexia Putellas | Spain | Barcelona |
| 5. | Chloe Kelly | England | Man City/Arsenal |
| 6. | Patricia Guijarro | Spain | Barcelona |
| 7. | Leah Williamson | England | Arsenal |
| 8. | Ewa Pajor | Poland | Barcelona |
| 9. | Lucy Bronze | England | Chelsea |
| 10. | Hannah Hampton | England | Chelsea |
| 11. | Claudia Pina | Spain | Barcelona |
| 12. | Marta | Brazil | Orlando Pride |
| 13. | Caroline Graham Hansen | Norway | Barcelona |
| 14. | Barbra Banda | Zambia | Chelsea |
| 15. | Sandy Baltimore | France | Chelsea |
| 16. | Cristina Girelli | Italy | Juventus |
| 17. | Temwa Chawinga | Malawi | Kansas City Current |
| 18. | Melchie Dumornay | Haiti | Lyon |
| 19. | Klara Buhl | Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 20. | Pernille Harder | Denmark | Bayern Munich |
| 21. | Amanda Gutierres | Brazil | Palmeiras |
| 22. | Esther Gonzalez | Spain | Gotham FC |
| 23. | Johanna Rytting Kaneryd | Sweden | Chelsea |
| 24. | Sofia Cantore | Italy | Juventus |
| 25. | Emily Fox | United States | Arsenal |
| 26. | Lindsey Heaps | United States | Lyon |
| 27. | Frida Maanum | Norway | Arsenal |
| = | Clara Mateo | France | Paris FC |
| 29. | Steph Catley | Australia | Arsenal |
| 30. | Caroline Weir | Scotland | Real Madrid |
Other Women's awards
- Kopa Trophy: Vicky Lopez (Spain, Barcelona)
- Yashin Trophy: Hannah Hampton (England, Chelsea)
- Gerd Muller Trophy: Ewa Pajor (Poland, Barcelona)
- Women's Coach of the Year: Sarina Wiegman (England)
- Women's Club of the Year: Arsenal (England)
Who has won the most Ballon d'Or awards?
The player with the most Ballon d'Or awards of all-time is Lionel Messi who has won it eight times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023). Behind him is Messi's long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo - a five-time winner of the prize (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).