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69th Ballon d’Or: Dembele Won in Men’s Category; Barcelona’s Bonmati Won Women’s title for 3rd Consecutive Year

On September 22 2025, the 69th edition of the Ballon d’Or (2025) award ceremony took place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France.

  • Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Forward Player, Ousmane Dembele has won the 2025 Men’s Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball Award), becoming the 6th Frenchman to win the award after Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (1983-85), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991), Zinedine Zidane (1998) and Karim Benzema (2022).
  • Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí made history by winning the Women’s Ballon d’Or for the third consecutive year (2023–2025), becoming only the third footballer ever to achieve a three-peat after Michel Platini (1983–85) and Lionel Messi (2009–12).

Exam Hints:

  • Event: 2025 Ballon d’Or Awards
  • Edition: 69th
  • Venue: Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France.
  • Co-organisers: UEFA and Groupe Amaury
  • Ballon d’Or Winners: Ousmae Dembele (in Men’s category) and Aitana Bonmati Conca (in Women’s Category)
  • 1st edition: 1956
  • Formed by: France Football, French magazine

About 69th Ballon d’Or:

Background: The Ballon d’Or was instituted by French magazine ‘France Football’ and has been presented annually, since 1956.

Women’s Edition: The year 2025 marked the 7th edition of the Women’s Ballon d’Or since the 1st edition was held in 2018.

Organised by: For the 2nd consecutive year, the awards were co-organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and Groupe Amaury, French Media Group and owner of France Football.

Selection Process: The winners are selected through the voting process which includes journalists from the top 100 countries in the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rankings for the Men’s award and top 50 FIFA-ranked countries for the women’s award.

Ballon d’Or 2025 Winners List:

AwardWinner NameFootball Club (FC)/Team Country
Ballon d’Or
(Men)
Ousmane DembeleParis Saint-Germain (PSG), France
Ballon d’Or
(Women)
Aitana Bonmatí ConcaBarcelona, Spain
Men’s Kopa Trophy
(Best Player Aged under 21)
Lamine YamalBarcelona, Spain
Women’s Kopa TrophyVicky LopezBarcelona, Spain
Men’s Johan Cruyff Trophy (Best Coach)Luis EnriquePSG, Spain
Women’s Johan Cruyff TrophySarina WiegmanEngland National Team, The Netherlands
Men’s Yashin Trophy
(Best Goalkeeper)
Gianluigi DonnarummaPSG, Italy
Women’s Yashin TrophyHannah HamptonChelsea, England
Men’s Gerd Müller Trophy
(Best Goalscorer)
Viktor GyokeresSportingCP/Arsenal, Sweden
Women’s Gerd Müller TrophyEwa PajorBarcelona, Poland
Other Awards
Award NameFootball Club (FC)/Team Country
Men’s Club of the YearPSG, France
Women’s Club of the YearArsenal, England
Socrates AwardFundacion Xana or Xana Foundation, Spain

Other Winners:

Kopa Trophy: Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, became the 1st player to clinch the Men’s Kopa Trophy twice.

  • Barcelona Femeni’s Vicky Lopez, won the inaugural women’s Kopa Trophy against Michelle Agyemang.

Johan Cruyff Trophy: The PSG head coach, Luis Enrique won the Men’s Johan Cruyff Trophy for best men’s coach of the year. Under his guidance, PSG clinched its 1st-ever UEFA Champions League  (UCL)title against Inter Milan.

  • In the women’s category, England women manager Sarina Wiergman claimed the Women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy. Under her mentorship, England won its 2nd successive European Championship title this year, defeating Spain in the final match.

Yashin Trophy: In the Men’s category, Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma claimed the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper of the year. He played a pivotal role in PSG winning its maiden UEFA Champions League (UCL) title.

  • While, England and Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton secured the Women’s Yashin Trophy after Chelsea’s Women Super League (WSL) title.

Gerd Müller Trophy: Viktor Gyokeres secured the Men’s Gerd Müller Trophy for scoring 54 goals in 52 matches for Sporting CP before his transition to Arsenal.

  • In the women’s category, Ewa Pajor won the Gerd Müller Trophy for scoring 43 goals in 46 appearances last season.

Socrates Awards: This year’s Socrates Award was conferred to the Xana Foundation (Spain), instituted by Luis Enrique in the memory of his daughter to support children with life-threatening diseases.

Club of the Year: PSG and Arsenal won the Men’s and Women’s Clubs of the Year title, respectively.

About Union of European Football Associations (UEFA):
It is the apex governing body of football in Europe.
President- Aleksander Čeferin
Headquarters- Nyon, Switzerland
Established- 1954