A purported image of the 2025 Ballon d’Or final rankings has surfaced online, but fans were quick to notice some glaring errors in the supposed results.
The official winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or will be revealed on Monday night in Paris, with Ousmane Dembélé and Lamine Yamal seen as the leading candidates for football’s most prestigious individual award.
Dembélé is a strong contender after scoring 35 goals and providing 16 assists across all competitions last season, along with winning several individual honors — including Champions League Player of the Season. Yamal also made a strong case, netting 21 goals and delivering 26 assists while helping Barcelona to a treble that included La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Supercopa de España.
As previously reported, only Vincent Garcia, the editor-in-chief of France Football, knows the identity of the winner. Garcia has stated that he keeps the result entirely confidential — even from the management team of L’Équipe, the magazine’s parent company. “I will keep the secret even if it means falling out with some people,” Garcia said ahead of the ceremony. “I will keep the secret until the very end.”
According to Le Parisien, the winner will be revealed live during the ceremony, which will be hosted at Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet, with former Barcelona and AC Milan star Ronaldinho presenting the trophy.
Despite the secrecy, a supposed leak appeared on social media when Argentine journalist Pablo Giralt posted an image of what he claimed were the final rankings. His caption read: “The alleged 2025 Ballon d’Or list has been leaked. Lamine Yamal would be the winner, Dembélé second, and Vitinha third. Opinions?”
Giralt, who has over a million followers on X, sparked widespread discussion. However, fans quickly pointed out two glaring spelling mistakes in the image: Kylian Mbappé’s name was spelled incorrectly, as was Inter Milan’s full name, Internazionale — casting doubt on the legitimacy of the leak.
Meanwhile, some PSG players may be forced to miss the Ballon d’Or ceremony due to a scheduling conflict. Nine members of last season’s treble-winning PSG squad have been nominated, including Ousmane Dembélé, Desire Doué, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Fabián Ruiz, Vitinha, and former PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, now at Manchester City.
However, the Ballon d’Or gala will now clash with a rescheduled Ligue 1 match between PSG and Marseille — a fixture that was moved from Sunday to Monday evening due to storm warnings in the region. The weather-related decision, announced by Marseille on Sunday, means many PSG players won’t be able to attend the ceremony.
In a statement, Marseille confirmed:
“Olympique de Marseille acknowledges the decision of the Bouches-du-Rhône Prefecture to postpone the OM – PSG match, originally planned for this evening, due to security concerns linked to weather conditions.
As communicated by the Professional Football League and in line with regulations, the match is rescheduled for Monday, September 22 at 8 p.m. at the Orange Vélodrome. Tickets purchased for tonight’s game will remain valid.”
The club added: “Olympique de Marseille regrets that the match cannot be played as scheduled, considering the impact on players, supporters already in attendance, and the overall visibility of the event.”
Injured PSG players — including Dembélé, Doué, and Neves — are expected to attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony, but their healthy teammates will likely miss out.
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