Key events
Aitana Bonmatà retains the women’s Ballon d’Or!
In this category at least, the hot favourite has won. Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatà wins the prize for a second time, retaining it from last year, and following on from clubmate Alexia Putellasâs double. Itâs well deserved, sheâs a phenomenal player who has won the World Cup and Champions League (twice) in the last 18 months.
Now itâs time for the real quiz, as we hand out the Ballons dâOr. First, the womenâs award, which is being presented by Natalie Portman. The Hollywood actor is a part-owner of Angel City FC in the USA, and reveals that she goes to watch Paris Saint-Germain quite often. A crowd-pleasing choice.
Carlo Ancelotti wins the men’s Johan Cruyff Trophy
So, Real Madrid add menâs coach of the year to the team of the year prize â and four of the top six players in the menâs Ballon dâOr countdown. Carlo Ancelotti isnât here, of course, and we move swiftly on.
Emma Hayes wins the women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy
This is the award for the coach of the year, with a womenâs category for the first time this year. It goes to Emma Hayes, former Chelsea coach who led the USA to Olympic gold in the summer. She accepts the award via a video link message.
âMisread the names and thought the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was up for the Yashin Trophy. Pretty impressive for a 74-year old,â writes Chris Plant, whose name I initially misread as Chris Pratt.
I must admit I wasnât familiar with Ronwen Williams either â but this interview with Ed Aarons is a great starting point.
Menâs award: live ranking
5 Erling Haaland (Man City/Norway)
6 Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid/France)
7 Lautaro MartÃnez (Inter, Argentina)
8 Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
9 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany)
10 Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)
11 Phil Foden (Man City/England)
12 Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen/Germany)
13 Dani Olmo (Barcelona/Spain)
14 Ademola Lookman (Atalanta/Nigeria)
15 Nico Williams (Athletic/Spain)
16 Granit Xhaka (Leverkusen/Switzerland)
17 Federico Valverde (Real Madrid/Uruguay)
18 Emiliano MartÃnez (Aston Villa/Argentina)
19 Martin Ãdegaard (Arsenal/Norway)
20 Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter/Turkey)
21 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England)
22 Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid/Germany)
23 Rúben Dias (Man City/Portugal)
24 William Saliba (Arsenal/France)
25 Cole Palmer (Chelsea/England)
26 Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
27 Vitinha (PSG/Portugal)
28 Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen/Spain)
=29 Mats Hummels (Roma/Germany)
=29 Artem Dovbyk (Roma/Ukraine)
The top four, in no particular order: Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Rodri, VinÃcius Júnior.
Jenni Hermoso wins the Socrates Award
Next up, itâs the Socrates Award, which is given to a footballer for their off-field, charity or humanitarian work. Last yearâs winner was â oh! â VinÃcius Júnior. This year, the award goes to ⦠Spain forward Jennifer Hermoso!
Hermoso wins the award for her âexemplary role in the development and equality in womenâs football,â for standing up for her rights â under intense pressure â after being forcibly kissed by Luis Rubiales, the Spanish FA chief now consigned to the dustbin of football history.
Womenâs award: live ranking
5 Lindsey Horan (Lyon/USA)
6 Mallory Swanson (Chicago/USA)
7 Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG/France)
8 Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal/Spain)
9 Trinity Rodman (Washington/USA)
10 Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/Spain)
11 Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain)
12 Barbra Banda (Orlando/Zambia)
13 Lauren James (Chelsea/England)
14 Ada Hegerberg (Lyon/Norway)
15 Khadija Shaw (Man City/Jamaica)
16 Tabitha Chawinga (PSG/Malawi)
17 Alyssa Naeher (Chicago/USA)
18 Gabi Portilho (Corinthians/Brazil)
19 Giulia Gwinn (Bayern/Germany)
20 Lucy Bronze (Chelsea/England)
21 Mayra RamÃrez (Chelsea/Colombia)
22 Glódis Viggósdóttir (Bayern/Iceland)
23 Tarciane (Houston/Brazil)
24 Lea Schüller (Bayern/Germany)
25 SjÅke Nüsken (Chelsea/Germany)
26 Yui Hasegawa (Man City/Japan)
27 Manuela Giugliano (Roma/Italy)
28 Lauren Hemp (Man City/England)
29 Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg/Poland)
30 Grace Geyoro (PSG/France)
The top four (in no particular order): Aitana BonmatÃ, Caroline Graham Hansen, Salma Paralluelo, Sophia Smith.
âI hope there will be wider acknowledgement of how classless it is for Real Madrid to boycott this event,â writes Ben Hardman. âThey have won the award multiple times in recent years. To win Team of the Year and refuse to turn up claiming an agenda is not a good look. It stinks of entitlement.â
Itâs also part of a tedious modern trend: big, rich and hugely dominant clubs who can bend the fabric of the game to their will, complaining that theyâre victims of an agenda.
EmilÃano MartÃnez wins the Yashin Trophy
It is indeed the Aston Villa and Argentina custodian, who won the Copa América and helped Villa into the Champions League. He retains the trophy from last year, and manages to accept it without placing it somewhere hilarious on his anatomy.
Unai Simón came second after winning the Euros with Spain, with Andriy Lunin of Real Madrid in third for his performances covering for Thibaut Courtois. The Ukrainian is back on the bench now, though.
The Ballons dâOr have been removed from their Louis Vuitton lock-boxes, live on stage. Pure theatre. Anyway, the next award is the Lev Yashin Trophy, which is going to one of these keepers. Emi Martinez or Mamardashvili, youâd imagine â¦
Diogo Costa, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Gregor Kobel, Andriy Lunin, Mike Maignan, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Emiliano MartÃnez, Unai Simón, Yann Sommer, Ronwen Williams.
Menâs award: live ranking
8 Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
9 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany)
10 Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)
11 Phil Foden (Man City/England)
12 Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen/Germany)
13 Dani Olmo (Barcelona/Spain)
14 Ademola Lookman (Atalanta/Nigeria)
15 Nico Williams (Athletic/Spain)
16 Granit Xhaka (Leverkusen/Switzerland)
17 Federico Valverde (Real Madrid/Uruguay)
18 Emiliano MartÃnez (Aston Villa/Argentina)
19 Martin Ãdegaard (Arsenal/Norway)
20 Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter/Turkey)
21 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England)
22 Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid/Germany)
23 Rúben Dias (Man City/Portugal)
24 William Saliba (Arsenal/France)
25 Cole Palmer (Chelsea/England)
26 Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
27 Vitinha (PSG/Portugal)
28 Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen/Spain)
=29 Mats Hummels (Roma/Germany)
=29 Artem Dovbyk (Roma/Ukraine)
Remaining nominees: Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Erling Haaland, Lautaro MartÃnez, Kylian Mbappé, Rodri, VinÃcius Júnior.
Womenâs award: live ranking
8 Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal/Spain)
9 Trinity Rodman (Washington/USA)
10 Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/Spain)
11 Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain)
12 Barbra Banda (Orlando/Zambia)
13 Lauren James (Chelsea/England)
14 Ada Hegerberg (Lyon/Norway)
15 Khadija Shaw (Man City/Jamaica)
16 Tabitha Chawinga (PSG/Malawi)
17 Alyssa Naeher (Chicago/USA)
18 Gabi Portilho (Corinthians/Brazil)
19 Giulia Gwinn (Bayern/Germany)
20 Lucy Bronze (Chelsea/England)
21 Mayra RamÃrez (Chelsea/Colombia)
22 Glódis Viggósdóttir (Bayern/Iceland)
23 Tarciane (Houston/Brazil)
24 Lea Schüller (Bayern/Germany)
25 SjÅke Nüsken (Chelsea/Germany)
26 Yui Hasegawa (Man City/Japan)
27 Manuela Giugliano (Roma/Italy)
28 Lauren Hemp (Man City/England)
29 Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg/Poland)
30 Grace Geyoro (PSG/France)
Remaining nominees: Aitana BonmatÃ, Caroline Graham Hansen, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Salma Paralluelo, Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan.
Anyway, back to the awards â next, itâs the Gerd Müller award, for the man with the most goals last season. And itâs a tie, between Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé, who both scored 52 goals.
Kane, as the only one of the two actually here, comes up to give a short speech, claiming he is clearly superior to Mbappé and this was all his own work thanking his teammates and France Football, and adding that itâs nice to win an award named after a Bayern Munich legend.
Itâs nice to see Harry get his hands on a trophy â but itâs a bitter irony that even when he wins something, he has to share it with another player.
Were Hummels and Dovbyk always sitting next to Rodri, or ⦠?
Well, this is awkward. Real Madrid win the menâs club of the year prize, but nobody from the club is here to collect it.
Real havenât tweeted about the award, or any other Ballon dâOr news â this is their only tweet today. Itâs ⦠a choice.
Barcelona win womenâs club of the year! The all-conquering queens of Spain and Europe beat Lyon in last seasonâs Womenâs Champions League final, their third title in four years.
âI would like to dedicate this award to my mother and my grandmother who have always supported me,â Yamal says. âBut also to my teams and my coaches.â Barçaâs starboy finished ahead of Arda Guler and Kobbie Mainoo, with Savinho fourth and Pau Cubarsi fifth.
Lamine Yamal wins the Kopa Trophy
The ceremony begins, with Didier Drogba and Sandy Herbert hosting. Ruud Gullit is on stage to present the first award of the night â the Kopa Trophy for best young (U21) player. It goes to ⦠Lamine Yamal! At the age of 17, heâs the first player under 18 to win the award.
The various nominees in attendance are now being called out on to the stage in pairs, some of which make sense â Rodri and Luis de la Fuente, Yamal and Putellas â others less so. Alejandro Garnacho and Aitana BonmatÃ?
Hereâs the Barcelona contingent arriving on the red carpet â¦
Lamine Yamal is the hot favourite to win this yearâs Kopa Trophy â maybe Real Madrid arenât coming tonight because they donât want to run into him again â¦
As far as I can tell, there is still no LâEquipe livestream for the ceremony, which is due to start in about 15 minutes. Itâs also not available to watch on TV (in the UK, at least). Seems a strange setup for such a popular and significant event.
Rodri is here, using crutches to cross the red carpet after suffering a season-ending ACL injury last month. He says heâs âfeeling goodâ despite being early in his recovery, and insists he âdoesnât know anythingâ about tonightâs outcome. âItâs a pleasure to be nominated.â
The Barcelona admin is at it here, surely â¦
One member of Real Madridâs Champions League winning 23-24 team who is talking tonight is Toni Kroos. The midfielder, who retired after Germanyâs Euro 2024 exit, has said âRodri will win,â adding: âI have never seen the importance of these individual awards in football, they have no place.â
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, who is at tonightâs ceremony, says: âIt is not good for football that a club like Real Madrid is not present at an event of this nature.â
A reminder of the dayâs big development â Real Madrid reportedly cancelled their delegationâs trip to Paris, because they believe VinÃcius Júnior will not win the menâs award tonight.
If all of this is true, thereâs still time for organisers to give VinÃcius the award tonight while Real Madrid collectively sulk in Spain. I think even Rodri might see the funny side.
âRegardless of whether Real Madrid may be right about Rodri taking home the prize, isnât skipping the event a childish lack of respect?â asks Rosario Russo. Oh yes, absolutely it is. If a Real Madrid player wins the award next year, why should anyone else bother to turn up?
Hereâs Harry Kane, who has made the top 10. Who knows, he might have been a contender tonight had Bayern beaten Real Madrid, England defeated Spain at the Euros, and Kane had not been worked into the ground by the seasonâs business end.
Mario Balotelli â who finished 23rd on the 2012 shortlist â has joined Serie A strugglers Genoa. Back in 2016, the Italian said he âcould have already wonâ the Ballon dâOr, but hoped to still win âin the next three yearsâ. Not going to happen now of course, but Iâd like to see him shine one more time.
For the first time in 20 editions of the menâs award, neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi are on the 30-player shortlist. Messi (with eight) and Ronaldo (five) have held a grip on this golden ball for the past two decades, but now that era is over.
Plus awards for coaches and clubs â¦
Menâs club of the year: Leverkusen, Dortmund, Girona, Manchester City, Real Madrid.
Womenâs club of the year: Barcelona, Chelsea, Lyon, NJ/NY Gotham, Paris Saint-Germain.
Menâs coach of the year: Xabi Alonso (Leverkusen), Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid), Luis de la Fuente (Spain), Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Lionel Scaloni (Argentina).
Womenâs coach of the year: Sonia Bompastor (Lyon/Chelsea), Arthur Elias (Corinthians/Brazil), Jonatan Giráldez (Barcelona), Emma Hayes (Chelsea/USA); Filipa Patão (Benfica), Sarina Wiegman (England).
Some of the other awards already have shortlists announced, including these prizes for players:
Kopa Trophy (best young player â menâs award only): Pau CubarsÃ, Alejandro Garnacho, Arda Güler, Karim Konaté, Kobbie Mainoo, João Neves, Savinho, Mathys Tel, Lamine Yamal, Warren Zaïre-Emery.
Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper â menâs award only): Diogo Costa, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Gregor Kobel, Andriy Lunin, Mike Maignan, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Emiliano MartÃnez, Unai Simón, Yann Sommer, Ronwen Williams.
The menâs list continues with Nos 15-11: Nico Williams, Ademola Lookman, Dani Olmo, Florian Wirtz and Phil Foden. A quality quintet there, and no mistake.
The good news for Roma is that they have two players on the top 30 shortlist. The bad news is they finished joint-29th (i.e. bottom) of that list â and neither played for them last season.
Another early arrival at the ceremony is Marcel Desailly. As good an excuse as any to recommend Jonathan Liewâs interview with the France, Milan and Chelsea legend.
Menâs live ranking
11 Phil Foden (Man City/England)
12 Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen/Germany)
13 Dani Olmo (Barcelona/Spain)
14 Ademola Lookman (Atalanta/Nigeria)
15 Nico Williams (Athletic/Spain)
16 Granit Xhaka (Leverkusen/Switzerland)
17 Federico Valverde (Real Madrid/Uruguay)
18 Emiliano MartÃnez (Aston Villa/Argentina)
19 Martin Ãdegaard (Arsenal/Norway)
20 Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter/Turkey)
21 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England)
22 Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid/Germany)
23 Rúben Dias (Man City/Portugal)
24 William Saliba (Arsenal/France)
25 Cole Palmer (Chelsea/England)
26 Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
27 Vitinha (PSG/Portugal)
28 Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen/Spain)
=29 Mats Hummels (Roma/Germany)
=29 Artem Dovbyk (Roma/Ukraine)
Remaining nominees: Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Toni Kroos, Lautaro MartÃnez, Kylian Mbappé, Rodri, VinÃcius Júnior, Lamine Yamal.
Here comes the Spain manager, Luis de la Fuente, looking like heâs on his way to collect an Oscar after his three-hour historical drama won Best International Feature Film.
âWill an American ever win the Ballon dâOr someday?â asks Kurt Perleberg. Well, Megan Rapinoe has won it, and Iâll wager that another USWNT player will follow suit in the next few years.
As for the menâs award, itâs hard to see it happening in the near future. It seems to me that a lot of US players with big potential end up hitting a ceiling â Gio Reyna, Folarin Balogun, Weston McKennie, even Christian Pulisic. But who knows.
Menâs live ranking
16 Granit Xhaka (Leverkusen/Switzerland)
17 Federico Valverde (Real Madrid/Uruguay)
18 Emiliano MartÃnez (Aston Villa/Argentina)
19 Martin Ãdegaard (Arsenal/Norway)
20 Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter/Turkey)
21 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England)
22 Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid/Germany)
23 Rúben Dias (Man City/Portugal)
24 William Saliba (Arsenal/France)
25 Cole Palmer (Chelsea/England)
26 Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
27 Vitinha (PSG/Portugal)
28 Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen/Spain)
=29 Mats Hummels (Roma/Germany)
=29 Artem Dovbyk (Roma/Ukraine)
Remaining nominees: Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Toni Kroos, Ademola Lookman, Lautaro MartÃnez, Kylian Mbappé, Dani Olmo, Rodri, VinÃcius Júnior, Nico Williams, Florian Wirtz, Lamine Yamal.
There are some big names missing from the womenâs top 30 â including Naomi Girma, Keira Walsh, Kadidiatou Diani and Olga Carmona. Tonightâs ceremony also wonât award a Kopa or Yashin award to a female player, and is taking place on the eve of Euro 2025 qualifiers. Is the Ballon dâOr really treating the womenâs game equally?
Womenâs award live ranking:
11 Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain)
12 Barbra Banda (Orlando/Zambia)
13 Lauren James (Chelsea/England)
14 Ada Hegerberg (Lyon/Norway)
15 Khadija Shaw (Man City/Jamaica)
16 Tabitha Chawinga (PSG/Malawi)
17 Alyssa Naeher (Chicago/USA)
18 Gabi Portilho (Corinthians/Brazil)
19 Giulia Gwinn (Bayern/Germany)
20 Lucy Bronze (Chelsea/England)
21 Mayra RamÃrez (Chelsea/Colombia)
22 Glódis Viggósdóttir (Bayern/Iceland)
23 Tarciane (Houston/Brazil)
24 Lea Schüller (Bayern/Germany)
25 SjÅke Nüsken (Chelsea/Germany)
26 Yui Hasegawa (Man City/Japan)
27 Manuela Giugliano (Roma/Italy)
28 Lauren Hemp (Man City/England)
29 Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg/Poland)
30 Grace Geyoro (PSG/France)
Remaining nominees: Aitana BonmatÃ, Mariona Caldentey, Caroline Graham Hansen , Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Salma Paralluelo, Alexia Putellas, Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan.
Here are the baubles being handed out at the Théâtre du Châtelet this evening:
-
Menâs Ballon dâOr
-
Womenâs Ballon dâOr
-
Kopa Trophy (best U21 player)
-
Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper)
-
Gerd Müller Trophy (top goalscorer)
-
Menâs Club of the Year
-
Womenâs Club of the Year
-
Menâs Coach of the Year
-
Womenâs Coach of the Year
Hereâs more on the dayâs big news, and the 30-player long lists which were announced in September. The countdowns have begun, so weâll bring you the latest asap â¦
Preamble
Ballon dâOr. Ballon dâOr! Ballon dâOr!!! ⦠Ballon dâOr? Ballon dâOr?! Ballon dâOr??? The biggest night in football for those who refuse to accept that this is fundamentally a team sport, and that every player on earth (yes, even Cristiano Ronaldo) would swap it to win the World Cup, is here â but before the ceremony in Paris has even kicked off, thereâs been big drama.
Ever since the moment that caused Rio Ferdinand to lose the run of himself, Real Madrid baller VinÃcius Júnior has been the hot favourite to win the menâs award. On Monday, though, speculative reports that he could be pipped to the prize by Manchester City midfield maestro Rodri soon gathered serious momentum.
It is now thought that Real have thrown their collective toys from the pram, and will not be sending anyone to Paris for tonightâs big shindig. Rodri, on the other hand, is here on crutches, which may tell its own story. Or there may be another twist in the tale, with France Footballâs countdown of the top 30 now under way.
The womenâs award is also being dished out tonight, with Aitana Bonmatà the favourite to retain her crown and continue Barcelonaâs dominance after Alexia Putellas won it in 2021 and 2022. Another Barça player, Caroline Graham Hansen, could be a contender alongside Mariona Caldentey, who left Catalonia to join Arsenal in the summer.