Ballon d’Or 2025: Who Did Carragher and Henry Choose as Their Winner?

World 19 September 2025 at 14:36

Khaled Hegazy

News Editor

The 69th edition of the Ballon d’or takes place on Monday at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris the stage for football’s most prestigious individual award.

New Era Beyond Messi and Ronaldo

For 2 decades, Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo dominated world football.

Between 2008 & 2023, they shared 13 of 15 trophies with Messi lifting record 8 and Ronaldo 4.

Now, with both past their peak .. a new generation of contenders has emerged.

Carragher’s 6 Favourites Revealed

CBS Sports analyst Jamie Carragher named 6 player he believes deserve serious consideration for the 2025 crown:

• Paris Saint Germain duo Achraf Hakimi & Ousmane Dembele who helped PSG to 4 trophies including historic first Champions league.
• Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal & Raphinha, central to domestic treble under Hansi Flick.
• Kylian Mbappe who scored 44 goal in his 1st season at Real Madrid despite the club missing out on silverware.
• Mohamed Salah who guided Liverpool to long awaited Premier League title with arguably his best campaign yet.

Expert Verdict: Dembele Favourite

Carragher revealed that Arsenal & Barcelona legend Thierry Henry didn't hesitate in naming Dembele as his pick for the award.

Henry speaking with conviction, said he didn’t "even need to think twice" when asked for his choice.

Carragher himself echoed that view insisting Dembele’s impact at PSG makes him the rightful frontrunner to lift his first Ballon d’or.

The final verdict will be revealed on Monday night in Paris.