Ballon d'Or nominees: Men set for new winner, Bonmati eyes 3-peat

Men's soccer is still embracing a new era while the women's game might be ready to shake things up.

The men's Ballon d'Or will be awarded to a first-time winner for the second straight year. The best player of 2024, Manchester City midfielder Rodri, and the winners over the 15 editions before Rodri's triumph - Lionel Messi (eight wins), Cristiano Ronaldo (five), Karim Benzema (one), and Luka Modric (one) - weren't among the 30 nominees announced Thursday for the coveted individual award.

Barcelona and Spain's four-year sweep of the Women's Ballon d'Or is under threat. Alexia Putellas (2021 and 2022 winner) and Aitana Bonmati (winner at the past two ceremonies) are still in contention to collect the prize, but representatives from Arsenal and England threaten to end the Iberian reign.

The winners will be announced Sept. 22 in Paris, France.

2025 Men's Ballon d'Or nominees

Paris Saint-Germain equaled Real Madrid's record of nine nominations from 2018 after they finally clinched the Champions League crown - with a 5-0 rout of Inter Milan, no less - while winning their 11th French title in 13 years and hoisting the Coupe de France. Ousmane Dembele is a strong contender to win the Ballon d'Or after he scored 32 goals and provided 13 assists across those three competitions.

Will a Women's Super League player win this time around? Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo, and Leah Williamson are among the 30 nominations after winning the Champions League with Arsenal and Euro 2025 with England. The trio counts four more club colleagues and two additional England teammates in the list. Although it's impossible to rule out Bonmati and Putellas, there's a chance that a non-European player wins the award while four other continents are represented, with the effervescent Marta and Amanda Gutierres among the standouts after they helped Brazil win another Copa America Femenina title. There are only two Americans nominated.

No prizes for picking the frontrunner in the best young men's player category. Eighteen-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal isn't just producing on a different stratosphere when compared to his rivals, he's also putting together numbers that far outweigh those tallied by Messi and Ronaldo at the same age.

Each player among the best men's goalkeeper nominees has been in contention for the honor before. Emiliano Martinez is the only one to have won the trophy twice (2023 and 2024), but Paris Saint-Germain's Gianluigi Donnarumma may match his haul after he last collected the award in 2021. Alisson Becker (2019) and Thibaut Courtois (2022) are also previous winners.

Yohann Cruyff Trophy

It's just the second year that these awards will be handed out and we're set for two more first-time winners after the pair recognized in 2024, Carlo Ancelotti and Emma Hayes, weren't nominated. Luis Enrique is a strong favorite to win the men's award after steering Paris Saint-Germain to the treble. Sarina Wiegman and Renee Slegers will presumably battle it out for the women's award following their impressive exploits in charge of England and Arsenal, respectively.

Men's team coach of the year

Women's team coach of the year