The 69th Ballon d’Or ceremony was held in Paris on 22 September 2025, with Ousmane Dembélé coming up as the overall winner.
Dembélé (PSG, France) became the first time winner; after playing a vital role in PSG’s season, which included their first UEFA Champions League title.
In the Women’s Ballon d’Or (Féminin) category, Aitana Bonmatí (FC Barcelona, Spain) won for the third year in a row.
Here’s a full update on the Ballon d’Or 2025 winners:
Kopa Trophy (Men’s Young Player): Lamine Yamal extraordinary performances for Barça won this while also finishing second in the main men’s Ballon d’Or voting.
Women’s Kopa Trophy: Vicky López was also recognized among the up-and-coming female players.
Yashin Trophy (Men’s Best Goalkeeper): Gianluigi Donnarumma
Women’s Yashin Trophy: Hannah Hampton
Gerd Müller Trophy (Top Scorer) Men: Viktor Gyökeres
Women: Ewa Pajor
Coach of the Year (Men): Luis Enrique
Women: Sarina Wiegman
Team of the Season (Men’s): Paris Saint-Germain
Team of the Year (Women’s): Arsenal
When Dembélé accepted the Men’s Ballon d’Or, it was an emotional moment, as he thanked his family, especially his mother, and reflected on his journey, including setbacks with injuries.
Bonmatí also expressed gratitude to her club, teammates, and especially underlined the importance of equality, especially since this year the awards have equal prizes for men and women.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, despite being only 18, had a strong showing, finishing second in the men’s Ballon d’Or voting and winning the Kopa. A lot of people see him as a future Ballon d’Or winner.
While many celebrate Dembélé’s triumph as overdue (given his talent and recent success), others debate whether younger players like Yamal should have won given their performances. Some critics ask whether consistency or peak moments should have more weight. Also, Bonmatí’s dominance in the women’s award is broadly praised.
Lamine Yamal Is Barcelona’s Best Player For September
Meanwhile, below are the full winners.
Men’s Ballon d’Or 2025:
• Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain) Winner
• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) won Kopa Trophy for young men
• Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain )
• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
• Raphinha (Barcelona)
• Achraf Hakimi (PSG )
• Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)
• Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
• Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)
• Nuno Mendes (PSG)
• Pedri (Barcelona)
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
• Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
• Désiré Doué (PSG)
• Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting CP)
• Vinícius Jr (Real Madrid)
• Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
• Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
• João Neves (PSG )
• Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan)
Women’s Ballon d’Or 2025 — Top 10
1. Aitana Bonmatí (Spain, Barcelona)
2. Mariona Caldentey (Spain, Arsenal)
3. Alessia Russo (England, Arsenal)
4. Alexia Putellas (Spain, Barcelona)
5. Chloe Kelly (England, Arsenal)
6. Patri Guijarro (Spain, Barcelona)
7. Leah Williamson (England, Arsenal)
8. Ewa Pajor (Poland, Barcelona)
9. Lucy Bronze (England, Chelsea)
10. Hannah Hampton (England, Chelsea)
After receiving his award, Dembélé said:
“I want to thank Deschamps. Let’s hope we can win the World Cup too!. Thank you to all the clubs I’ve played for: Stade Rennes, Borussia Dortmund, and the club I always dreamed of playing for, Barcelona … I learned so much there, playing alongside players like Lionel Messi and Andrés Iniesta.”
“To my mother, I want to thank you. You have always been there for me, mama.”
Luis Enrique (PSG Coach / Men’s Coach of Year): He was heavily credited for Dembélé’s revival and performance. Descriptions from media say Enrique gave him confidence, tactical freedom, and structured a system in which Dembélé’s work defensively as well as offensively was highly valued.
Reactions by Countries, Clubs and Fans:
France: Happy to have a French winner again (Dembélé), first since Karim Benzema in 2022. Seen as a national boost. Many French outlets celebrated his Champions League breakthrough with PSG.
Spain / Barcelona: Mixed emotions. Pride in Yamal’s season; disappointment at just missing out. However, many in Spain saw Yamal’s performance as already exceptional, that the future is bright. Also, Bonmatí’s win for women’s Ballon d’Or reinforced Spain’s strength in women’s football.
Liverpool / England: Fans of Mohamed Salah felt he might have deserved more (he came 4th). Similarly for other English players like Cole Palmer, Leah Williamson, etc. Some debate around fairness vs expectations.
Critics / Controversy:
Some felt that players with big goal numbers (e.g. Haaland) were underrated, as his final ranking was quite low (26th).
Raphinha’s 5th place came with criticism; Neymar called some of the rankings “too much of a joke.”
Yamal’s father’s reaction (calling result morally damaged).
The media’s opinions on Dembélé’s win is that, it is a turning point after redeeming his career often marred by injuries.
