The votes for the 2025 Ballon d’Or have been officially revealed, and Ousmane Dembele saw off competition from Lamine Yamal by 321 votes to win the prestigious award.
Dembele has enjoyed a remarkable year after firing Paris Saint-Germain to long-awaited UEFA Champions League glory. He has starred in Luis Enrique’s Parisian side, managing 35 goals and 16 assists across competitions last season.
There was late talk that Barcelona’s shining starlet, Yamal, 18, had beaten the Blaugrana’s former winger to top spot on the podium. But it was the Frenchman who reigned supreme in Paris, and he did so with 1,380 votes to his name.
2025 Ballon d’Or Official Votes – Salah Hits 657

Dembele and Yamal were neck and neck in the race to win the award but the Spanish wonderkid settled on second place with 1,059 votes. Vitinha, whose ranking has been questioned by a section of fans, received over 700 votes for his exploits in the middle of Enrique’s midfield.
The Premier League’s two representatives in the top 10 were Liverpool’s Premier League title-winning top scorer, Mohamed Salah, who reached 657 votes, and Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer, who received 211 votes.
Fabrizio Romano revealed the official votes for the Ballon d’Or on his X account. It means that the battle for the France Football award was a two-horse race, and Yamal nearly pulled off an astonishing feat by becoming its youngest winner.
Official 2025 Ballon d’Or Votes
Rank:
Player:
Votes:
1.
Ousmane Dembele
1,380
2.
Lamine Yamal
1,059
3.
Vitinha
703
4.
Mohamed Salah
657
5.
Raphinha
620
6.
Achraf Hakimi
484
7.
Kylian Mbappe
378
8.
Cole Palmer
211
9.
Gianluigi Donnarumma
172
10.
Nuno Mendes
171
While Dembele and Yamal’s Ballon d’Or tug-of-war was closely fought, it pales in comparison to the controversial duel between Rodri and Vinicius Junior last year. French outlet L’Equipe claimed that just 41 points separated the Manchester City midfielder, who won the award, and the Real Madrid attacker who sat out the ceremony in outrage.
Ballon d’Or Votes: Kane & McTominay in Best of the Rest

The Premier League had somewhat of an underwhelming year in the Ballon d’Or rankings overall, with Salah and Palmer the only two representatives to crack the top 10. Harry Kane was England’s second-best performer after finishing in 13th place, while Arsenal’s new boy, Viktor Gyokeres, came in 15th, two places behind his fellow marksman.
Vinicius performed poorly after his second-place finish last year, taking 16th place, which highlights Real Madrid’s struggles this past year. Robert Lewandowski perhaps warranted higher than 17th, given he played an important role in Barcelona’s La Liga triumph alongside Yamal and Raphinha.
Ballon d’Or 11-30
Rank:
Player:
Votes:
11.
Pedri
124
12.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
123
13.
Harry Kane
112
14.
Desire Doue
74
15.
Viktor Gyokeres
56
16.
Vinicius Jr
51
17.
Robert Lewandowski
49
18.
Scott McTominay
45
19.
Joao Neves
40
20.
Lautaro Martinez
37
21.
Serhou Guirassy
25
22.
Alexis Mac Allister
21
23.
Jude Bellingham
21
24.
Fabian Ruiz
20
25.
Denzel Dumfries
20
26.
Erling Haaland
18
27.
Declan Rice
13
28.
Virgil van Dijk
7
29.
Florian Wirtz
5
30.
Michael Olise
4

All Scottish eyes were on how Scott McTominay would perform on the night and Napoli’s revelation managed to break into the top 20. The former Manchester United midfielder finished higher than Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, Arsenal’s Declan Rice, and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
Perhaps the biggest underperformer was Erling Haaland, who so many envisioned would be a constant frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or. The Manchester City striker didn’t even bother turning up to the event, and rightfully so, given his 30th placing.
LIVERPOOL10 months ago