Ballon d'Or Power Rankings

Following an era where the Ballon d'Or was predominantly claimed by footballing greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the race to be crowned the best player in the world remains arguably as open as we have ever seen it.

The awarding of the 2024 Ballon d'Or sparked major controversy, with Vinicius Jr emerging as the front runner for the majority of the season, only for Rodri to clinch the honour after an immense campaign for both club and country.

This time round, however, it'd be hard to make the case that any player in the run-in for the award would be underserving, but with a variety of club honours still to play for, the likelihood of our Power Ranking top five remaining in the same order is slim.

With that said, find out who makes our Ballon d'Or Power Rankings top five.

• The Debate: Who should win the 2025 Ballon d'Or?

• 2025 Ballon d'Or Odds

5 - Raphinha

While Barcelona crashed out of the UEFA Champions League at the semi-final stage, they clinched the La Liga title ahead of domestic rivals Real Madrid, in which Raphinha had a sizeable impact.

With 18 goals and 11 assists in the league and 13 goals and nine assists in the UEFA Champions League, Raphinha's remarkable numbers mean that he may not rely on European success to clinch the Ballon d'Or.

The correlation between UEFA Champions League success and Ballon d'Or winners is present however, and Barca's exit from the competition may hinder his chances of becoming the first Brazilian to win the induvial award since Kaka in 2007.

4 - Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe's Ballon d'Or hopes looked all but done a matter of months ago, but an impressive individual campaign means he can't be ruled out.

Leading the way as La Liga's top scorer with 31 goals, the Frenchman scored approximately 39% of Real Madrid's league goals in an infrequent underwhelming season for the club.

With that said, a trophyless season for Los Blancos puts Mbappe as an outsider for the sport's most prestigious individual award.

3 - Vitinha

Vitinha has been paramount in PSG's domestic and European success this term, summed up by his performance in the UEFA Champions League final, almost single-handedly setting up Desire Doue's second goal.

What could provide the midfielder with a better chance for the Ballon d'Or is Portugal's UEFA Nations League success, taking Vitinha's trophy count to five for club and country.

Attacking prowess tends to stand out for those voting for the award, but it'd be hard to find anyone who thinks that Vitinha is completely undeserving.

2 - Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal was mooted the future of football when breaking onto the scene at Barcelona, but viewers are starting to realise that he's not just the future, but the present too.

No player recorded more assists than Yamal in the 2024/25 La Liga this term, and he appears to be impressing on every stage he appears on, whether that be domestically. in Europe, or on an international stage.

It seems almost impossible not to compare Yamal to former Barcelona icon Lionel Messi, sharing uncanny similarities with regards to their remarkable natural talent and raw ability.

Barca's inability to claim European royalty may halt Yamal's Ballon d'Or dreams, but the record breaker shouldn't be ruled out.

1 - Ousmane Dembele

Luis Enrique delivered PSG's first UEFA Champions League honour when dismantling Inter Milan 5-0 in the final, in which Ousmane Dembele added two assists to an outstanding term.

Only two players amongst Europe's top five leagues have scored more goals than Dembele in 2025, while no player in Ligue 1 has provided more goal involvements in the 2024/25 campaign.

It's fair to say that his form since the turn of the year won't have gone unnoticed as he eyes up the chance of becoming the sixth French international to claim the Ballon d'Or.