We take a closer look at the 2025 Ballon d’Or betting odds as bookmakers reveal their favourites for the trophy. Just days after finishing as runner-up to Rodri at the 2024 Ballon d’Or event, Vinicius Junior was installed by betting sites as the favourites to go one better in 2025 but things look very different right now. Having been around 20/1 when the market for the 2025 award opened, Mohamed Salah has seen his odds shrink dramatically to the point he’s now 7/2 to collect the individual honour.
It shouldn’t be a surprise given the outstanding season both he and his club side are having but despite his form in recent years he never seems to really be in the mix, instead, all the talk has been around his future and whether he will still be at Anfield next season. The 32-year-old is out of contract in the summer and has yet to agree a new deal with the Reds, the club where he has spent the last eight years.
Liverpool sit top of the Premier League table and they topped the Champions League table with 21 points from eight games, helped largely by Salah’s 26 goals and 18 assists so far. Bookmakers have moved the Egyptian to the top of the market to lift the trophy later this year, just ahead of a gaggle of stars from LaLiga. Player. Bookmaker. Mo Salah. Bet365. William Hill. Lamine Yamal. Vinicius Junior. Raphinha. Robert Lewandowski.
Jude Bellingham. Virgil Van Dijk. Erling Haaland. Alexander Isak. Cole Palmer. After Salah the next six players in the betting are all LaLiga players with three Barcelona stars and three from Real Madrid on the list. Kylian Mbappe is just behind Salah at 9/2 and he has been in impressive form with 23 goals and three assists to help Real to the top of LaLiga, just ahead of Atletico Madrid. Barcelona sit third in LaLiga but they finished second in the league phase of the Champions League and bookies have Lamine Yamal at 7/1, Raphinha at 8/1 and Robert Lewandowski at 16/1.
Yamal won the Kopa Trophy last time around, which is presented to the best-performing player worldwide under the age of 21. Considering he is still only 17, he could dominate that category for years to come. However, if his meteoric rise continues at the rate it’s going, who knows what he could have achieved by this time next year. He burst onto the scene last season, breaking all sorts of LaLiga and Champions League records and was a surprise inclusion in Spain’s 26-man squad for the European Championship.
When he played against Croatia, he became the youngest player to feature in the tournament, aged just 16 years and 338 days. He scored in the semi-final win over France and played 89 minutes of the final as Spain beat England to win the trophy, and his performances saw him named Uefa Young Player of the Tournament. The midfielder has continued where he left off last season with 11 goals so far, including one apiece in the two wins over Real.
At the other end of the playing spectrum to Lamal is his Barca team mate Lewandowski. At 36, you would think this might be Lewandowski’s last chance to pick up the award and with 19 goals and two assists from his 22 games, it’s easy to see why his odds have been cut. The Polish striker has scored nine goals in the Champions League so far this season and bagged three against Real to help his side to two wins out of two against their rivals so far this season. They won 4-0 at the Bernabeu in October with Lewandowski scoring twice and Yamal and Raphinha also both on target.
Vinicius Junior at 8/1 and Jude Bellingham at 16/1 make up the top six but after finishing second and third to Rodri at the 2024 awards it’s hard to see how they will better what they achieved last season. Vinicius Jr was the leading contender with football betting sites to win the 2024 prize, right up to the day of the awards, only to be pipped at the post by Rodri in a decision which raised a lot of eyebrows.
The Brazilian was Real Madrid’s top goalscorer with 24 goals in all competitions last season as they won LaLiga, the Spanish Super Cup and the Uefa Champions League. He also assisted with 11 further goals giving him 35 goal contributions in just 39 appearances in all competitions – which works out at a goal or assist every 88 minutes. All of this while also missing two months of the season. He has 17 goals in 30 appearances so far this season, including hat-tricks against Borussia Dortmund.
Bellingham is curious case as he has struggled to hit the heights of his debut campaign. He also has undoubted ability on the pitch, but he will need a strong second half of the campaign to push himself into contention. Another player out of contract at Liverpool in the summer is captain and central defender Virgil Van Dijk, who is currently 25/1 on the Ballon d’Or list. The Dutch international has been in exceptional form for the Reds so far this season and has been key to the side only conceding 21 goals in the Premier League and two goals in the Champions League matches he played in.
