Full Nominees for the 2025 Ballon d’Or Awards Announced, Osimhen and Lookman Missing
- CAF Players of the Year, Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, have been omitted from the Ballon d'Or shortlist
- Paris Saint-Germain stars Ousmane Dembele and Achraf Hakimi lead the list of nominated players for the Ballon d’Or
- The 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held in Paris on September 22
The 2025 Ballon d’Or nominee list has been officially released, and notably absent from this year’s 30-man shortlist are Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, both of whom recently won back-to-back CAF Player of the Year titles.
Their exclusion comes as a surprise to many African football followers, considering their consistent performances for both club and country over the past year.
Source: Twitter
However, the shortlist leans heavily on players who have made a significant impact in the UEFA Champions League and Europe’s top leagues.
Among the standout names are Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele, who enjoyed a remarkable season leading the French side to their first Champions League title, GOAL reports.
Real Madrid stars Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, and Arsenal’s Declan Rice also made the cut.
PSG dominate 2025 Ballon d’Or list
This year’s Ballon d’Or nominations are heavily influenced by PSG’s dominant season.
Source: Getty Images
Apart from Dembele, teammates Vitinha, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, and Desire Doue also made the shortlist, per Sports Illustrated.
PSG’s treble-winning season, capped by a historic Champions League win, has undoubtedly boosted the French club’s credentials.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who led the Reds to the Premier League title, had a record-breaking individual season with 29 goals and 18 assists, making him a strong contender.
Harry Kane and Bayern Munich’s outstanding signing, Michael Olise, are other familiar names on the list.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, and PSG’s Joao Neves are among the young players nominated for the Ballon d’Or this year, while legends like Robert Lewandowski and Virgil van Dijk continue to receive recognition.
Full list of 2025 Ballon d’Or nominees
Men’s Ballon d’Or 2025 Nominees
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
Desire Doue (Paris Saint-Germain)
Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan)
Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting Lisbon / Arsenal)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain)
Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Scott McTominay (Napoli)
Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)
Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain)
Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)
Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
Pedri (Barcelona)
Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain)
Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Raphinha (Barcelona)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Vinícius Junior (Real Madrid)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain)
Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen / Liverpool)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
When will the Ballon d’Or take place?
The winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or will be crowned on Monday, September 22, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
The glamorous evening promises to be filled with suspense as fans await who will succeed Rodri, the 2024 winner.
Nnadozie nominated for Ballon d’Or
In a related development, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria’s Super Falcons star Chiamaka Nnadozie has been nominated for the Women’s Yachine Trophy at the upcoming 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Hosts France Football named the nominees for the Women's Yashine Award, and they are Chiamaka Nnadozie of Nigeria; Germany's Ann-Katrin Berger, Hannah Hampton of England, Cata Coll of Spain and Daphne van Domselaar of the Netherlands.
Proofreading by Omoleye Omoruyi, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
