“Hate how these awards are so much about PR” - Fans call rankings a ‘joke’ for including 2 players in 21st to 30th places for 2025 Men’s Ballon d’Or

Some football fans have expressed their disapproval following the inclusion of Erling Haaland and Michael Olise in the bottom ten of this year's Ballon d'Or. The pair of European stars were ranked at 26th and 30th place, respectively, after the resultts f the votes for the award were revealed.

Manchester City star Haaland and his Bayern Munich counterpart Olise were among the nominees for the award this year after impressive performances for their respective sides. At 30th place, Frenchman Olise received the lowest votes of the 30-man shortlist of nominees for the award, with Haaland doing slightly better.

The initial rankings released has left the fans perplexed, particularly seeing how lowly both players have ranked this year. A number of them took to X to question the veracity of the Ballon d'Or and its credibility in today's game.

A fan pointed out that Haaland's position is wild.

Central

@WestHam_Central

@ballondor Haaland that low is wild

Another fan shared a similar opinion, stating that the whole award is biased.

the Albert

@NBAARTHUR1

@ballondor Haaland at 26 makes this whole ceremony very biased

A fan sought to compare the seasons Michael Olise and Vinicius Jr had to justify the former's low ranking.

Uncleirving11

@Uncleirving11_

@ballondor Give me 1 thing Vinicius did better than Olise last year and ill delete my account

Another fan stated that Olise deserves a much higher ranking.

𝐏𝐒𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐓

@PSGINT_

@ballondor all fair apart from Olise should be waaaay higher i hate how these awards are so much about PR

A fan found Olise's low ranking funny.

ABBATY 🚀

@GADXAU

@ballondor Olise 30th 😂😂 Nahh this shit is for dembouz 💔

Another fan made a point about Haaland's ranking, pointing to it as being unjustified.

GOAL RUSH

@GOAL__RUSH

@ballondor It's strange to see Haaland outside the top 10. He may not have won the biggest team trophies last year, but his individual numbers are still phenomenal. 😿😿😿😿

A fan simply pointed to the list as a joke.

🦅

@AR11APJAN

@ballondor Joke of a list.

Another fan questioned Haaland's ranking at 26th place.

Lammy💫

@Lammy_LFC

@ballondor This is a joke 😂😂😂😂 Haaland 26????

The ranking of the players for this year's Ballon d'Or has been released in batches, with Michael Olise in 30th, Florian Wirtz in 29th, Virgil van Dijk in 28th, Declan Rice in 27th, and Erling Haaland in 26th place. Denzel Dumfries in 25th place, Fabian Ruiz in 24th, Jude Bellingham in 23rd place, Alexis Mac Allister in 22nd, and Serhou Guirassy in 21st make up the bottom ten from the shortlist.

Real Madrid star suffers significant regression in 2025 Ballon d'Or rankings

Real Madrid ace Vinicius Jr has suffered a significant drop in the rankings for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. The Brazil international came close to winning the award in 2024, but failed to make the top 10 in this year's voting.

Ballon d'Or

@ballondor

Ranked at the 16th place for the 2025 Men's Ballon d'Or! Vinicius Jr. @realmadrid @CBF_Futebol #ballondor

Vinicius Jr finished a close second to Manchester City ace Rodri in 2024, vowing to do more to emerge as the winner in subsequent editions. This year's ranking, however, has the 24-year-old in 16th place after a below-par campaign with Los Blancos.

Real Madrid failed to win any major honours in the 2024-25 season and Vinicius Jr was upstaged by Kylian Mbappe as the club's biggest star. He managed 21 goals and 15 assists across all competitions for the Spanish giants but struggled to churn out consistent displays.