Ballon d’Or 2025 winner ‘leaked’ hours before lavish Paris awards ceremony

The Ballon dOr ceremony will take place at the Theatre du Chatele in Paris on Monday evening with PSG forward Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal frontunners for the men’s award

Ousmane Dembele has won the 2025 Ballon d’Or, according to French journalist Romain Collet Gaudin, despite conflicting claims from Spain. The Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Monday night, with football’s elite expected to attend.

The coveted individual honour will be presented to the standout performer of the 2024/25 season, in what is the 69th edition of the French Football accolade. Manchester City midfielder Rodri claimed the top men’s prize last year, whilst Barcelona and Spain forward Aitana Bonmati won the women’s award.

Ahead of this evening’s ceremony, French reporter Gaudin suggests that the men’s award will go to Paris Saint-Germain striker Dembele. The France international proved instrumental in PSG’s first ever Champions League triumph in May.

Yet Spanish journalist Edu Aguirre told broadcaster El Chiringuito that he expects Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal to win the Ballon d’Or instead. He said: “I think Lamine wins the Ballon d’Or for sure.

“What amazes me is they [Barcelona] haven’t won the Champions League. There’s no World Cup either, so logically in France, it should be debated between [Ousmane] Dembele, Vitinha, Achraf [Hakimi]. PSG has already won everything this year.”

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Reports from Marca say that neither Dembele, Yamal, nor any other candidate knows whether they have won the award. The ceremony will feature Dembele, Desire Doue and Joao Neves representing PSG’s delegation.

PSG play Marseille tonight in a rescheduled Ligue 1 match that was postponed over the weekend due to severe weather conditions. However, all three stars are currently sidelined with injuries.

Dembele enjoyed an outstanding campaign, with 51 goal involvements in 59 matches, earning him the titles of Ligue 1 Player of the Season, Ligue 1 Golden Boot and Champions League Player of the Season. He also helped PSG secure the Ligue 1 title, Coupe de France and the French Super Cup in their historic campaign.

Meanwhile, Yamal, 18, contributed to 46 goals in 61 games and was named La Liga Young Player of the Season as Barcelona clinched La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.

It seems likely that the award will go to either Dembele or Yamal, with the former being the strong favourite with the bookmakers.

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