SOME of the best players on the planet have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or — the most prestigious individual award in the beautiful game.Here’s everything you need to know about how and when the winner of football’s top prize will be crowned.AFPMan City’s Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d’Or[/caption]ReutersLionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or a record eight times[/caption]ReutersFormer Man U midfielder Scott McTominay has been nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or[/caption]How is the Ballon d’Or winner decided?The Ballon d’Or winner is determined through a two-stage voting process.The first stage involves journalists from French publications France Football and L’Equipe working together to come up with a list of thirty official nominees, which was announced on August 7, 2025.This list is based entirely on the performances of footballers from the previous season and can occasionally include insights from a select group of former players.Once the shortlist is finalised, one football journalist representing each of the top 100 Fifa-ranked nations is invited to take part in the voting, with each selecting their top 10 players.The voting system awards points to each selection — the first-choice player receives 15 points, the second receives 12, and then 10, eight, seven, five, four, three, two and one point respectively for the subsequent places.After all votes are submitted, the points are summed and the Ballon d’Or is awarded to the player with the highest total.The remaining nominees are then ranked according to their final point totals from second to 30th place.Should there be a tie in points between players, the tie-breaker is decided first by the number of first-place votes received.If they are still level on points, then the number of second-place votes are considered, then third, and so on…When the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner is announced?The winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or will be revealed at a ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in central Paris on Monday, September 22, 2025.In addition to the main award, several other honours will be handed out during the event.The Kopa Trophy, which is awarded to the best player under the age of twenty-one, is determined by a vote among previous Ballon d’Or recipients, using a shortlist of ten young talents.The Yashin Trophy, celebrating the top goalkeeper, is decided by journalist votes from a ten-player shortlist.The Coach of the Year trophy is selected by journalists from a list of managerial candidates.And finally, the Club of the Year trophy is given to the best-performing team according to journalist votes from a designated shortlist.Ballon d'Or 2024 results1: Rodri, Man City and Spain2: Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid and Brazil3: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid and England4: Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid and Spain5: Erling Haaland, Man City and Norway6: Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid and France7: Lautaro Martinz, Inter Milan and Argentina8: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona and Spain9: Toni Kroos, Real Madrid and Germany10: Harry Kane, Bayern Munich and England11: Phil Foden, Man City and England12: Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen and Germany13: Dani Olmo, Barcelona and Spain14: Ademola Lookman, Atalanta and Nigeria15: Nico Williams, Athletic Bilbao and Spain16: Granit Xhaka, Bayer Leverkusen and Switzerland17: Federico Valverde, Real Madrid and Uruguay18: Emi Martinez, Aston Villa and Argentina19: Martin Odegaard, Arsenal and Norway20: Hakan Calhanoglu, Inter Milan and Turkey21: Bukayo Saka, Arsenal and England22: Antonio Rudiger, Real Madrid and Germany23: Ruben Dias, Man City and Portugal24: William Saliba, Arsenal and France25: Cole Palmer, Chelsea and England26: Declan Rice, Arsenal and England27: Vitinha, PSG and Portugal28: Alejandro Grimaldo, Bayer Leverkusen and Spain29: Mats Hummels, Roma and Germany30: Artem Dovbyk, Roma and Ukraine