Hours before ceremony, alleged 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings leak online

The 2025 Ballon d'Or rankings have been leaked online hours before the ceremony on Monday, September 22. Journalist Pablo Giralt shared a picture of the alleged top ten rankings on X.

According to the post, Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal has won the coveted trophy this year, while Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Ousmane Dembele has finished second. PSG's Vitinha has also secured a podium finish.

Interestingly, Yamal and Dembele are both frontrunners of this year's big prize. The Spaniard won a domestic treble with the Catalans last season, registering 18 goals and 25 assists from 55 games in all competitions.

Dembele, meanwhile, secured a historic treble with the Parisians, and was also adjudged the Champions League player of the season. The Frenchman registered 35 goals and 16 assists from 53 games in all competitions for the Ligue 1 champions.

While the latest rumours suggest that it may not have been enough to win him the Ballon d'Or, eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot some errors with the leaked rankings. Kylian Mbappe's name is spelt wrong, as is Inter Milan's registered title, Internazionale.

As such, it is perhaps wise to take the leaked rankings with a pinch of salt. It is believed that the actual ranking is only known to Vincent Garcia, France Football's editor-in-chief.

Garcia has previously stated that he will keep the winner a secret until the last moment.

"The Ballon d'Or winner? I will keep the secret even if it means falling out with some people. I will keep the secret until the very end," said Garcia.

This year's award will be presented by Barcelona legend and previous winner Ronaldinho.

Who won the Ballon d'Or in 2024?

Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri won the Ballon d'Or last year ahead of Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior. Los Blancos were furious after learning of the decision hours ahead of the ceremony and didn't attend the gala in protest.

Interestingly, many PSG players are likely to be absent from this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony as well. Nine members of Luis Enrique's team are among the shortlist for the awards this year.

Unfortunately, the Parisians' game against Marseille was postponed to Monday, on the day of the ceremony, so many of the players will not be a part of the event this year. However, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, and Joao Neves are currently sidelined with injuries and are likely to be at the gala.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written nearly 10000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 21 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit