The French capital of Paris hosts the 2025 Ballon d’Or Award ceremony on Monday, September 22 as the world of soccer celebrates it’s very own ‘Soccer Oscars’.
Twelve prizes will be distributed during the course of the evening with the most anticipated awards being those of the Ballon d’Or and Ballon d’Or Féminin for Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year.
Ballon d’Or 2025 favorites
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain) is the hot favorite to win the men’s prize ahead of Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, while there are several female contenders, including Barça duo Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas, and Brazilian superstar Marta.
Monday’s ceremony will be the 69th edition of the prestigious awards and this year, founders France Football have teamed up with UEFA for an event celebrating the best in the game based on performances over the season, from August 1, 2024, to July 13, 2025 for the men, and to 2 August, 2025 for the women.
Ballon d’Or 2025 awards
Ballon d’Or trophy: dimensions, value
One of the most iconic awards in the game, the Ballon d’Or trophy (the golden ball in French) is widely reported to be worth somewhere in the region of $3,000. It includes a pyrite base and the overall structure measures 31 cm in height and 23 cm in diameter, and weighs just over 7 kg.
Made with two brass plates that are soldered together to create the shape of a ball, the trophy is filled with a wax-like material and, on the outside, is bathed in gold.
Will Dembélé be at the Ballon d’Or ceremony?
The majority of the PSG players nominated for the men’s award will not be present at the ceremony due to their weekend game away to Marseille being postponed and rescheduled for Monday at exactly same time.
However, Dembélé is currently injured and unavailable for selection, which means he is expected to collect the prize in person if he wins.