Ballon d’Or 2025 Voting Results Are ‘Leaked’ Ahead of Monday’s Ceremony
- The 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony is slated for Monday night, September 22, 2025 and a supposed leaked result has gone viral
- Fans are excited and have tipped PSG's Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal to go head-to-head
- According to a leaked list which has since gone viral, neither Dembele nor Yamal will take home the coveted award
The 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony is slated for Monday night, September 22, and a leaked list claiming to show the top 10 finishers for the 2025 men’s award has gone viral.
There have been controversies in recent years, with leaked results unveiling the eventual winners even before the gala night, unlike decades past when it was a big secret.
Fans practically know the eventual winner beforehand these days, and there are often concerns expressed over the integrity of the ceremony and winners in recent times.
Source: Getty Images
Again, for a fourth consecutive time, neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi features in the top three as fans anticipate another new winner.
The 2025 Ballon d’Or winner will officially be unveiled at Monday’s glamorous awards ceremony, inside the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France.
2025 Ballon d'Or top 10 list 'leaked'
About 48 hours before the event, a supposedly leaked list claiming to have shown a glimpse of the top 10 finishers went viral across social media.
The shared yet unconfirmed list had Barcelona’s Raphinha at the top with 800 points, a tally higher than Messi’s winning totals in 2023.
According to the list, French star Ousmane Dembele will be second with 710 points, while Lamine Yamal is third, according to Tribune.
In fourth and fifth positions are Vitinha and Nuno Mendes, respectively, while Pedri is in sixth.
Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Desire Doue, and Lautaro Martínez are other players in the top 10 according to the list.
X handle Barca Spaces shared the list and added the caption: "This would be such a surprise."
Reactions to 'leaked' Ballon d'Or list
Fans have taken to the comment section to react.
@Chuks_Osonwa replied:
"It would be a surprise only because of Flick’s press conference yesterday and that Barca fans became divided, most started pushing Lamine Yamal for it ahead of Raphinha, who for me, was the best player and our most clutch player of last season."
@daemonbaby added:·
"Psg and PSG. Missing bracket. Hakimi not in the top 10. Guys."
@ShowstopperKing posited:
Suprise?... I blame All Barca fans that pushed Yamal instead of Raphinha. Raphinha was balling last season and was a pillar to Barca's performance.
@stoja30371 posited:
"Not to me but realistically it won’t sadly happen, raphina to me deserved it the most."
Source: Getty Images
Dembele most deserving of 2025 Ballon d’Or - Analyst
A Nigerian sports analyst, Habeeb Kuranga, has weighed in on the leaked rankings ahead of the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony scheduled for Monday evening.
“Concerning the 2025 Ballon d’Or award ceremony, which is slated for this evening, I think the winner is clear, unlike the last edition, which was a close call,” Kuranga told Legit.ng.
“For me, Ousmane Dembele is the one and only deserving candidate. No disrespect to what Barcelona duo, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, Liverpool star, Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid talisman, Kylian Mbappe achieved for their respective clubs last season.”
On the reported leaks, the analyst said such claims should not be surprising:
“Concerning the reported leaks from some sources, this shouldn't come as a surprise to us, as today is the day we see who is going to succeed Manchester City midfielder, Rodrigo 'Rodri' Hernandez, as the best player in the world. So, it is expected to see different lists flying all across social media.”
He stressed that the lists do not undermine the award’s integrity.
“I don't think these lists affect the credibility of the Ballon d’Or rather I see it as one where people spark up discussions about the award as the hype wasn't as much as it currently is as far as yesterday.”
Kuranga further explained that past practices by the organisers heightened the suspense around this year’s edition.
“Before now, France Football (the Ballon d’Or organizers) always set up interviews with the eventual winners a day before the gala, which is always released ahead of the event. And the absence of this across all channels has further raised the suspense.”
He concluded with a note of caution:
“For me, I will advise us to take the leaked list with a pinch of salt.”
Dembele tipped for Ballon d'Or
Legit.ng earlier reported that PSG sporting director, Luis Campos, had made a strong case for Dembele to be crowned the Ballon d'Or winner ahead of Yamal.
The football administrator believes that the France international forward would be a deserved winner of the coveted international award over the Barcelona star.
Editorial assistant Ololade Olatimehin provided exclusive commentary from a sports analyst for this report.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
