According to bookmakers, French forward Kylian Mbappe , who plays for the Spanish club Real Madrid and the French national team, is the main contender for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award in 2025, writes IZ with reference to Givemesport. Compared to the February forecast, Mbappe's chances of receiving the highest individual football award have improved significantly.
According to the information, in second place in the updated bookmakers' rating is the Brazilian attacking midfielder Rafinha , who plays for Barcelona. He has risen five positions compared to the February list. The third position is occupied by the Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah from Liverpool, whose position has worsened compared to the previous forecast.
Also in the top 10 contenders for the Golden Ball are such footballers as Vinicius Junior (Brazil, Real Madrid), Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona), Harry Kane (England, Bayern Munich), Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Barcelona), Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid), Ousmane Dembele (France, PSG) and Jamal Musiala (Germany, Bayern Munich). Of these, 8 footballers are strikers, and only two – Bellingham and Musiala – midfielders.
The Ballon d'Or award is awarded based on three criteria: individual performance, team achievement and fair play. The winner will be determined by a jury consisting of representatives of the top 100 countries in the FIFA men's rankings. Points for each player will be distributed according to the system of 15, 12, 10 and others. In the event of a tie, the number of first places they have received will be taken into account.
We remind you that we previously wrote that the Ukrainian national football team received new opponents for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.