Ballon d'Or 2025 live updates winners, rankings, final awards results as Dembele, Salah, Lamine Yamal contest big prize

The 2025 edition of the Ballon d'Or is set to be the most closely contested in years.

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah and Barcelona duo Raphinha and Lamine Yamal are in the conversation, along with Ousmane Dembele and several members of the all-conquering Paris Saint-Germain team.

Rodri lifted the prize in 2024 after his exploits for Manchester City and Spain, but the midfielder is not in contention this time around, having missed the vast majority of the 2024/25 season with an ACL injury.

JUMP TO: Latest live updates | Results, rankings, awards | When does the ceremony start?

Real Madrid made headlines for boycotting last year's ceremony after news of Rodri's triumph leaked on the day of the ceremony. Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe are nominated for Los Blancos this time around but are not expected to finish on the podium.

Aitana Bonmati has won the Ballon d'Or Feminin in each of the past two years and is one of the frontrunners once again this time around.

The Sporting News provided live updates throughout the day, bringing you the final results and reaction from the Theater du Chatelet during the ceremony in the French capital.

MORE: All-time Ballon d'Or winners | How the winner is decided | Latest Ballon d'Or odds | All nominees

Live updates of Ballon d'Or trophy ceremony, commentary, video

All times ET

1 p.m.: We are two hours away from the gala starting! We are close to wrapping up the bottom 20 rankings for the men, with France Football likely leaving the reveal of the top 10 for men and women until the ceremony itself.

A few star players took steps back in 2024/25. Vinicius Jr dropped 14 spots from his 2nd-place finish last year, ranking 16th, while his Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham dropped 20 places to 23rd. Erling Haaland, who finished 5th last year, drops to 27th.

It's tough out there for No. 9's, with Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane finishing outside the Top 10, which feels egregious.

Théâtre du Châtelet, still calm! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/VxfE9Rr8jz

— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) September 22, 2025

12:30 p.m.: The Ballon d'Or rankings make for an intriguing talking point. What should matter more when it comes to voting for the Ballon d'Or, the better 2024/25 season or the better player?

A number of midfielders have been released in the bottom 10 of the men's rankings, including Declan Rice (27), Fabian Ruiz (24), Jude Bellingham (23), Alexis Mac Allister (22), and Joao Neves (19). Meanwhile, Scott McTominay (18) ranks higher than all of them.

Who is better, and who had the better season? Where would your rank them?

12 p.m.: With the first 15 women's players out, they've begun ranking the men now! Michael Olise of Bayern Munich wins "Mr. Irrelevent" as the lowest-ranked player, which feels unfair after what was a spectacular season in Bavaria.

Ranked at the 30th place for the 2025 Men's Ballon d'Or!

Michael Olise@FCBayern@equipedefrance#ballondor pic.twitter.com/o1DxbR1Iza

— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) September 22, 2025

11:30 a.m.: The Ballon d'Or social media account has begun the rankings for the award! They will start from the bottom and count up.

Starting with the women's rankings, they have announced the first 15 players in the rankings! Two USWNT stars, Emily Fox (25) and Lindsey Heaps (26) finish near the bottom of the rankings.

1️⃣6️⃣ Cristiana Girelli
1️⃣7️⃣ Temwa Chawinga
1️⃣8️⃣ Melchie Dumornay
1️⃣9️⃣ Klara Bühl
2️⃣0️⃣ Pernille Harder#BallonDor pic.twitter.com/66uC25TqbZ

— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) September 22, 2025

11 a.m.: Spanish publication Marca are reporting that "people will be shocked" with the result of the Ballon d'Or today.

Usually, that stuff is mostly fluff. We saw in 2024 that nobody really knows the results of the Ballon d'Or, it doesn't leak. But we'll see how right Marca are!

🚨🔜 People will be 'shocked' about the #ballondor winner tonight, reports @marca. pic.twitter.com/VTpStGKcqr

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) September 22, 2025

10:30 a.m.: The Sporting News has compiled stats on four of the main Ballon d'Or contenders to allow you to compare them side-by-side.

Statistically, Raphinha was the most consistent performer across the whole of the season through 2024/25. Ousmane Dembele was the best in the 2025 calendar year, while Mo Salah had the strongest league campaign.

2024/25 stats, goals, assists: Raphinha | Mo Salah | Ousmane Dembele | Lamine Yamal

10 a.m.: A Liverpool delegation is on its way to the Ballon d'Or ceremony, ready to support Mohamed Salah's inclusion near the top of the list. It's unlikely that Salah will be the recipient of the award, but he should finish amongst the top five and potentially the top three.

Arne Slot won’t be holding a live pre-match press conference before Liverpool’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Southampton on Tuesday. #LFC 🔴

— Nazira Yusuf (@Nazira_Yusuf22) September 22, 2025

9 a.m.: One unusual sub-plot is whether a Real Madrid delegation will be with us this evening. The 15-time European champions boycotted the awards en masse last year after ultimately accurate reports leaked over Rodri being the winner. Despite Kylian Mbappe enjoying an excellent maiden season at the Santiago Bernabeu, no Madrid player is truly in contention this time around. Will that make it easier for them to attend or easier to snub?

8 a.m.: There is, of course, more than just the Ballon d'Or being presented today. The best young players, goalkeepers, coaches, clubs and more will be recognised in the French capital.

Explained: All the different awards at the Ballon d'Or ceremony

7 a.m.: There's a strange scheduling quirk for today's ceremony: PSG are playing Marseille at the same time as the ceremony, which obviously is a bit of a problem for those who are nominated. Here's what's going on — and why Dembele doesn't have to worry about missing potentially the biggest night of his professional career.

6 a.m.: Rodri was arguably a surprise winner last year, certainly in Madrid, but the field this year feels as open as it has for years. Ousmane Dembele is among the favourites, but will eight members of PSG's treble-winning team being on the shortlist split the vote? Raphinha is Barcelona's most statistically dominant player, but Lamine Yamal feels inarguably like their main man. Then there's Mohamed Salah, who racked up a phenomenal amount of goals and assists as Liverpool waltzed to Premier League glory. The Reds bowed out in the last-16 of the Champions League, though, and that may count against him.

5 a.m.:  Welcome to The Sporting News' coverage of Ballon d'Or day 2025! We're expecting the rankings of the nominees from places 30 to 11 to be announced late afternoon European time before the ceremony in Paris gets underway in the evening. 

Ballon d'Or 2025 final results from trophy ceremony

Final Men's Ballon d'Or rankings 2025

Other Men's awards

• Men's Coach of the Year: _
• Gerd Muller Award: _
• Men's Club of the Year: _
• Yashin Trophy: _
• Kopa Trophy: _

Final Ballon d'Or Feminin rankings 2025

Other Women's awards

• Women's Coach of the Year: _
• Women's Club of the Year: -

Other awards

• Socrates Award: -

What time does the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony start?

The red carpet arrivals at the Theater du Chatelet in Paris start at around 8 p.m. local time, with the ceremony scheduled to start at 9 p.m. and finish by 11 p.m. All times are estimated by event organizers.

Here's how that arrivals time translates across some of the major territories:

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