Nine players from treble-winning Paris Saint-Germain have been nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or this year, along with the club’s coach Luis Enrique, as France Football announced its list of nominees.
Ousmane Dembele, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Desire Doue, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha are all on the list of 30 players nominated on Thursday for the big prize.
Dembele scored 35 goals and claimed 16 assists in all competitions as PSG won the Ligue 1 title, French Cup and Champions League and were Club World Cup runners-up to Chelsea.
Other nominees include Barcelona’s Raphinha (34 goals, 25 assists), Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (34 goals, 23 assists), who was named Premier League Player of the Season, and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (34 goals, five assists).
Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele celebrates with the trophy after winning the Champions League [Peter Cziborra/Reuters]
Scott McTominay, who won Serie A’s Most Valuable Player after guiding Napoli to the title, was also nominated as the first Scotsman in 38 years to make the shortlist. Barca’s Lamine Yamal (18 goals, 25 assists) made the cut while the 18-year-old winger was also nominated for the Kopa Trophy for best Under-21 player, an award he won last year.
Five England players were nominated for the women’s Ballon d’Or after their Euros triumph, including goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly and Leah Williamson.
Marta, who came out of retirement to lead Brazil to the women’s Copa America title at the age of 39, was also nominated. Along with Luis Enrique, Enzo Maresca, who guided Chelsea to the Club World Cup title, and Liverpool’s Arne Slot, who won the Premier League crown in his first season at the club, were nominated for the men’s Coach of the Year award.
Spanish midfielders Rodri and Aitana Bonmati are the current holders of the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or awards, respectively.
The former spent most of last season injured with Manchester City, while Bonmati was a defeated finalist at Euro 2025 as England overcame Spain.
Current Ballon d’Or Women’s holder Aitana Bonmati looks dejected after Spain’s Euro 2025 defeat by England [Bernadett Szabo/Reuters]
The women’s coach nominees are led by Sonia Bompastor, who won a domestic treble at Chelsea, Renee Slegers, who took Arsenal to their second Champions League crown, and Sarina Wiegman, after she helped England retain their Euros title.
Ballon d’Or nominations in full
Men: Jude Bellingham, Ousmane Dembele, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Desire Doue, Denzel Dumfries, Serhou Guirassy, Viktor Gyokeres, Erling Haaland, Achraf Hakimi, Harry Kane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Robert Lewandowski, Alexis Mac Allister, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappe, Scott McTominay, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Michael Olise, Cole Palmer, Pedri, Raphinha, Declan Rice, Fabian Ruiz, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Vinicius Jr, Vitinha, Florian Wirtz, Lamine Yamal
Women: Sandy Baltimore, Barbra Banda, Aitana Bonmati, Lucy Bronze, Klara Buehl, Mariona Caldentey, Sofia Cantore,