2025 Ballon d'Or: Dembele wins for 1st time, Bonmati seals 3-peat

The 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony took place Monday at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France. View all the winners of soccer's most prestigious individual accolades below.

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Men's Ballon d'Or | Women's Ballon d'Or | U21 | Goalkeeper | Coach | Top Scorer | Best Club | Socrates Award

Men's Ballon d'Or

Ousmane Dembele 🏆

Paris Saint-Germain forward Dembele took home the 2025 Ballon d'Or as recognition for an incredible campaign in which his dramatic positional change and scoring exploits lifted PSG to a first-ever Champions League title and continental treble.

The French star, moved into a center-forward role midway through the season, registered 33 goals and 13 assists across all competitions as PSG won Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, and the elusive big-eared trophy. He provided a goal and an assist in the Champions League semifinals, created a pair of tallies in the final, and also took home the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award after finishing as the league's joint-top scorer.

The former Barcelona winger was presented the Ballon d'Or by Brazilian icon and crowd favorite Ronaldinho, whose simple announcement of "Dembele" was greeted by raucous applause and chants of "Ousmane, Ousmane" inside the Theatre du Chatelet in the French capital.

Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal, who earlier retained the Kopa Trophy as the best Under-21 player, finished second behind Dembele in the voting.

Dembele made special mention of the support he received from his mother, who joined him on stage before the two shared an emotional embrace following the forward's acceptance speech.

"We've done this all together," the 28-year-old said, wiping away tears.

Dembele's triumph gives France eight men's Ballon d'Or wins as a country, tied for the most ever with Argentina. All eight of the latter's have come from Lionel Messi. Germany (including West Germany), the Netherlands, and Portugal each have seven.

Women's Ballon d'Or

Aitana Bonmati 🏆

Bonmati made history Monday by claiming her third consecutive Ballon d'Or Feminin, becoming the only player to ever accomplish the feat. Messi and Michel Platini are the only others, male or female, to match what the 27-year-old playmaker has achieved.

Bonmati beat out Arsenal midfielder and compatriot Mariona Caldentey, who finished second in the voting.

Bonmati's triumph continues Spain's run of dominance in this category. She and Barcelona teammate and fellow Spaniard Alexia Putellas have now combined to take home this trophy in each of the past five years.

A strong English contingent, led by Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo, and Leah Williamson, were looking to bring that streak to an end after Arsenal won the Champions League and the Lionesses beat Spain in a riveting Euro 2025 final, but they came up just short.

Russo was the closest contender, finishing third.

Bonmati, the heartbeat of Barcelona's brilliant women's team, was named the best player at Euro 2025 this summer. She led her country to the tournament final despite being hospitalized with viral meningitis prior to the competition.

Kopa Trophy (Best U21 Player)

Lamine Yamal 🏆
Vicky Lopez 🏆

Was there ever any doubt?

Barcelona superstar Yamal defended the trophy he captured last season as the world's best player under 21 years of age. He's the first player to successfully retain the honor in the short history of the award. Yamal, 18, could keep hold of this one until he ages out of the category.

He beat out the likes of Desire Doue, Dean Huijsen, and Kenan Yildiz.

"Maybe I'll see you later," gala co-host Ruud Gullit teased as Yamal left the stage, referencing the Spaniard's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or later in the evening. He came agonizingly close, finishing second to Dembele.

Fellow Spanish teenager Vicky Lopez made it a clean sweep in the U21 category for Barcelona, winning the women's Kopa Trophy. She came out ahead of Euro 2025 breakout star Michelle Agyemang and Real Madrid forward Linda Caicedo, among others.

Yachine Trophy (Best Goalkeeper)

Gianluigi Donnarumma 🏆
Hannah Hampton 🏆

Emiliano Martinez has been unseated. The Argentine netminder was aiming to be named the game's top men's goalkeeper for the third consecutive year, but the honor went to Donnarumma after the Italian played an instrumental role in helping Paris Saint-Germain enjoy their greatest season in club history. Now at Manchester City after a summer transfer, Donnarumma was quick to thank his former teammates while on stage with compatriot Gianluigi Buffon.

Hampton, meanwhile, was the overwhelming favorite for the women's award after her heroics at Euro 2025. The Chelsea shot-stopper stole the show in the tournament final, saving two Spanish penalties in a shootout to lift the Lionesses to their second consecutive European crown.

Yohan Cruyff Trophy (Best Coach)

Luis Enrique 🏆
Sarina Wiegman 🏆

The tacticians behind two of the standout triumphs of the 2024-25 season were chosen as the top coaches of the year. Luis Enrique masterminded Paris Saint-Germain's youth movement and philosophical shift that ended with a historic Champions League title.

On the women's side, decorated Dutch coach Wiegman took home the hardware after guiding England to the Euro 2025 crown. The Lionesses went into the tournament with massive expectations after winning the 2022 title, and, thanks in large part to Wiegman's late-game substitutions in the knockout stages, successfully defended the trophy.

Wiegman took the opportunity to deliver an important message on the growth of the women's game.

"The women's game has grown so gar, we have broken records. This is not just a personal honor, I see it as a reflection of the women's game, we have come so far," the 55-year-old said while on stage. "With that growth we have responsibility and we have to try and keep our identity, being authentic and inclusive. I hope we will keep fighting against misogyny and racism. Football should always unite and never divide."

Gerd Muller Trophy (Top Scorer)

Viktor Gyokeres 🏆
Ewa Pajor 🏆

Named after the iconic German striker who was one of the most prolific players in history, these awards are bestowed on the top male and female scorers from last season.

Gyokeres, now at Arsenal, found the net 54 times in 52 appearances for Portuguese outfit Sporting CP. Barcelona's Polish striker Pajor, meanwhile, scored at nearly a goal per game pace, recording 43 tallies in 45 appearances.

Club of the Year

Men: Paris Saint-Germain 🏆
Women: Arsenal 🏆

Winning the Champions League will always carry huge weight in this category whenever we're not dealing with a World Cup year. And that's precisely how it played out. The respective winners of Europe's premier club competition were recognized as the top teams of the past season.

With the ceremony taking place in Paris, PSG's triumph was particularly popular inside the Theatre du Chatelet. Ironically, while PSG were being honored off the field, they suffered a 1-0 defeat to rivals Marseille on the pitch in a match that was rescheduled due to severe weather over the weekend and played at the same time as Monday's ceremony.

Socrates Award

Introduced in 2022, the Socrates Award is named after the legendary Brazilian midfielder and recognizes the humanitarian work of players or groups within the sport.

This year it went to the Xana Foundation, which supports "children and young people affected by oncological diseases and other serious illnesses."

The foundation was established in 2023, and is named after the late daughter of PSG manager Luis Enrique. Xana passed away in 2019 at the age of nine after a battle with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.