Who are the candidates for the Ballon d'Or prizes for men and women in 2025?

At a ceremony at Paris's Theatre du Chatelet, the winners of the two Ballon d'Or prizes for their achievements from the previous season will be revealed.

But who is the most likely to win out of the 30 nominees that were revealed last month?

Using data from 2024–25, we examined the performance of six of the main candidates for each trophy in all league games for women and all club tournaments for men.

Additionally, you can vote for the person you believe will be the class of 2025's top student.

Dembele Ousmane (Paris St-Germain)

53 games and 3,483 minutes were played. 35 goals, 14 assists.  Contributions to the goals: 49 minutes each, 99.5 minutes each, 71.1

Paris St-Germain won Ligue 1, became the first European champions, and advanced to the Club World Cup final thanks in large part to Ousmane Dembele.

He finished the season as a joint-top scorer in Ligue 1 with 21 goals from 29 games. In addition, he won player of the year and was named to the division's team of the season.

After eight goals and six assists in the competition, including two in the 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in the final, the 28-year-old was also named the Champions League's player of the season.

After that, Dembele scored in the Club World Cup semifinal victory over Real Madrid and the quarterfinal victory over Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich player Harry Kane

51 games and 3,955 minutes were played. Objectives: 41 Helps: 12 Contributions to the goals: 53 minutes each, 96.5 minutes each, 74.6

When he led Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga championship, England's all-time top scorer won his first major trophy.

The 32-year-old led the Bundesliga scoring charts with 26 league goals, including three hat-tricks.

He scored ten goals in eleven days in September, beginning with two goals for England in the Nations League match against Finland on September 10.

Three days later, he scored three more goals in Bayern's 6-1 league victory over Holstein Kiel. On September 17, he scored four goals in Bayern's 9-2 Champions League thumping of Dinamo Zagreb, and on September 21, he scored one in his team's 5-0 triumph over Werder Bremen.

Real Madrid player Kylian Mbappe

Played games: 59 minutes; 4,742 minutes.  Objectives: 44 Helps: 5 Contributions to the goals: 49 minutes each; 107.7 minutes each; 96.8 minutes each

With 31 goals, four more than Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, the France forward finished his first season in Spain as La Liga's leading scorer.

Mbappe scored in 34 games, including hat-tricks against Barcelona and Valladolid. Additionally, he scored three goals to defeat Manchester City in the Champions League knockout stage.

The 26-year-old helped France finish third in the Nations League in June, making him just the third player to score 50 goals for his country.

The Barcelona Raphinha

Played: 57 minutes; 4,661 games,  34 goals, 22 assists.  Contributions to the goals: 56 minutes each, 137.1 minutes each, 83.2

In 2024–25, Raphinha assisted Barcelona in winning three trophies: the Supercopa de España, the Copa del Rey, and La Liga.

He was named La Liga's player of the season for his 18 goals and nine assists.

After joining Barcelona from Leeds United in 2022, the 28-year-old Brazilian forward finished as the Champions League's joint-top scorer with 13 goals in 14 games, including a hat-trick in a 4-1 victory over Bayern Munich.

Salah Mohamed (Liverpool)

52 games were played, and 4,497 minutes were played. 34 goals, 23 assists.  Contributions to goals: 57 minutes each, 132.3 minutes each, and 78.9 minutes each

A major contributor to Liverpool's 20th English title victory was Mohamed Salah.

With his 18 assists and 29 goals, he tied the record for the most Premier League goal involvements in a 38-game season with 47.

In addition, his goal total earned him the Golden Boot for the fourth time, tying Arsenal great Thierry Henry for the record. Additionally, the 33-year-old received his second Premier League Player of the Year award.

Prior to Liverpool's defeat by eventual champion Paris St-Germain in the round of 16, the Egypt forward scored three goals in the Champions League.

Barcelona native Lamine Yamal

55 games and 4,548 minutes of play.  Objectives: 18, Helps: 21 Contributions to goals: 39; minutes spent on each goal: 252. 116.6 minutes for each goal contribution

The 18-year-old winger assisted Barcelona in winning the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de España, and La Liga, the Spanish treble.

In addition to being in the La Liga and Champions League teams of the season, he was named the September La Liga player of the month.

Although the team lost to Portugal on penalties in the final, he scored twice for Spain in their 5-4 victory against France in the Nations League semi-final.

Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati

26 minutes, 1,913 goals, 12 assists, and 6 games played,  18 minutes for each goal; 159 minutes for each goal; 106 minutes for each goal contributed

One of just three players in three consecutive years to win the Ballon d'Or, but one of two players from Barcelona and Spain to do it.

It wouldn't be shocking if Aitana Bonmati won again because she is unquestionably one of the finest players in the world, but it might not help her cause to miss out on two significant honors.

She was hospitalized with meningitis just days before the Euros started, raising questions about her capacity to compete, but she played a crucial role for Spain, including scoring the game-winning goal in their semi-final.

However, others grabbed the attention during the elimination stage, and England won the final; therefore, she wasn't the most impressive player.

Arsenal player Alessia Russo

21 games and 1,686 minutes were played. Objectives: 12 Helps: 2 Contributions to the goals: 14 minutes each, 141 minutes each, 120

The striker for Arsenal has had a busy year, winning both the Champions League and Euro 2025.

She rediscovered her rhythm for her team and scored in the Euro final. She was instrumental both off the ball and in front of the goal during the season.

For good reason, the 26-year-old was awarded the Women's Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association for the previous season.

She shared the Golden Boot with Khadija Shaw and was the second-leading scorer in the Women's Super League.

Barcelona native Alexia Putellas

Goals: 16 assists: 11 Goal contributions: 27 minutes per goal: 101 minutes per goal contribution: 60 Games played: 24 minutes played: 1,620

Despite a year that hasn't gone quite as planned, Alexia Putellas is vying for a third Ballon d'Or, and it's easy to see why she is a formidable opponent.

Despite Spain losing to England in the Euro 2025 final and Barcelona missing out on the Champions League, Putellas has continued to play at a very high level.

She helped Barcelona win Spain's top division and a domestic triple with 16 goals and 11 assists.

She is a serious candidate to win it again after winning it back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.

Barcelona native Claudia Pina

Played games: 27 minutes, 1,557.  Objectives: 10 Helps: 7 Contributions to the goals: 17 minutes each, 156 minutes total, 92 minutes each

Although she was the competition's best scorer, she did not win the Champions League. She scored six goals for Spain and a total of 24 goals for her club.

The 24-year-old is a flexible player who can play forward or midfield with ease.

She was missed by Spain in the Euro final and consistently makes the difference for both club and country. One of the front-runners for the prize is Pina.

Bronze Lucy (Chelsea)

19 games and 1,491 minutes were played. Objectives: 2, Helps: 3,  5 minutes for each goal: 746 minutes for each goal, contribution: 298

After winning the Women's Super League, FA Cup, and League Cup, Lucy Bronze persevered through the pain of a damaged tibia to win Euro 2025.

As part of a domestic treble in her debut season with Chelsea, the full-back won her fourth WSL championship.

Despite her injuries, the 33-year-old played the fourth-most minutes for the Lionesses during the Euros and scored a decisive penalty in the quarterfinal matchup with Sweden.

Although an attacker is more likely to win the title than a defender, Bronze has had an incredible season.

Arsenal's Mariona Caldentey

21 games and 1,774 minutes were played. Objectives: 9 Helps: 5 14 minutes for each goal: 197 minutes for each goal contribution: 127

After joining Arsenal in the summer, Mariona Caldentey assisted in winning the Champions League, the team's greatest prize ever.

She immediately made an impact and gave an already formidable frontline a creative edge.

She was chosen as the WSL's player of the year because of how well she performed after leaving Barcelona.

Although it was a losing cause, the Spaniard scored in the Euro 2025 final.