Ballon d'Or Feminin Power Rankings: Aitana Bonmati in contention for Golden Ball three-peat amid tough competition from Spain team-mates Alexia Putellas and Mariona Caldentey while Alessia Russo leads Lionesses candidates

In 2024-25: 25 goals, nine assists. Won Bundesliga, German Cup and German Super Cup.

It's often difficult for players in the Frauen-Bundesliga to get nominated for the Ballon d'Or, and it's not going to be any easier this year, given both Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg crashed out at the quarter-final stage of the Women's Champions League. However, Pernille Harder had herself a truly outstanding season which helped Bayern clinch a domestic treble.

The German champions retained their league title, lifted the German Super Cup and beat Werder Bremen in the DFB-Pokal final - with Harder at the heart of it all. A treble, combined with her wonderful stats, should be more than enough to put the Denmark captain onto the list of Golden Ball nominees. That said, the Danes' disappointing group-stage exit at the Euros could stop her from ranking too highly.

In 2024-25: 25 goals, nine assists. Won Premiere Ligue.

Until Lyon's shock Champions League exit at the hands of Arsenal, Melchie Dumornay felt like a genuine contender for the Ballon d'Or at age 21. The Haiti international was OL's best player all season long and even scored in both legs of their European semi-final, despite the team's disappointing defeat.

She still deserves to receive votes for the Golden Ball this year, but the fact Lyon were only able to win one trophy, plus Haiti's lack of a major tournament this summer, will stop her from getting on the podium. Watch this space, though: she looks capable of winning this award - and sooner rather than later.

In 2024-25: 17 goals, four assists. Won NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship.

Twelfth in the Golden Ball voting last year, Barbra Banda stood a good chance of ranking even higher in 2025. The latter stages of the 2024 NWSL season will count towards this year's award, during which the striker helped the Orlando Pride win the NWSL Shield and the Championship, and she has continued to excel in 2025.

Banda was not able to enhance her case with a big Africa Cup of Nations, though that's not on her really. The striker scored three goals and assisted another in her four appearances for Zambia at the tournament, but defensive frailties hurt the team again as they lost 5-0 to Nigeria in the quarter-finals.

In 2024-25: 16 goals, six assists. Won Women's Super League, FA Cup and League Cup.

Chelsea completed an incredible domestic treble this past season and reached the last four of the Champions League - and yet, until some backed that up with big summers on the international front, they lacked obvious contenders for the Ballon d'Or. It's an award that often leans at least somewhat on name recognition as well as performances, and the Blues' most recognisable stars were often hampered by injuries.

However, Sandy Baltimore made her mark in enough big moments to be in with a shout. It was her corner that Lucy Bronze headed home to win the WSL title at Manchester United and she was then involved in all three goals in victory over the same opponent in the FA Cup final, scoring twice and assisting another. A quarter-final exit at the Euros with France will weaken her case, though.

In 2024-25: 32 goals, 11 assists. Won Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Super Cup.

No player scored more goals in the Champions League proper last season than Claudia Pina. With 10 strikes in just nine games, the 23-year-old picked up the Golden Boot award - albeit after losing the final. Pina started the game in Lisbon, something that wasn't always the case last term, but she was unable to make a real impact as Barca fell to defeat.

Those European contributions alone are likely to put her on the Ballon d'Or shortlist, as is a match-winning brace in the Copa de la Reina final and a solid Liga F campaign. Pina was able to add to her case at the Euros, too, scoring two truly outstanding goals that will stick in the memories of voters as Spain reached the final.

In 2024-25: 52 goals, 16 assists. Won Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Super Cup.

Ewa Pajor has won votes for the Ballon d'Or in each of the last two years, but she's never really been up near the top of the list, ranking 18th in 2023 and 29th in 2024. That's likely to change in 2025, though. Pajor swapped Wolfsburg for Barcelona in the summer of 2024 and banged in goals for the Spanish champions like nobody else, playing a vital role in Barca's domestic treble and run to the Champions League final.

That the 28-year-old made her major tournament debut with Poland at this summer's Euros adds to her chances of achieving a career-high Ballon d'Or ranking. Her country didn't get out of the group stage, sure, but that was always unlikely, and Pajor was able to play a significant role in them securing a first-ever win on the biggest stage when they beat Denmark in their final group game.

In 2024-25: 24 clean sheets. Won European Championship, Women's Super League, FA Cup & League Cup.

Hannah Hampton is a player who might have had a case to be nominated for this award off the back of her club season alone, albeit only if she was a more established star. That's because it's hard for goalkeepers to get recognised in the voting for accolades like this, but she strengthened her case with an outstanding Euros.

Hampton was brilliant for Chelsea as they claimed just a second-ever domestic treble without losing a single game across all three competitions, before then standing out with England in Switzerland by making huge saves in their penalty shootout wins in the quarter-final and, most notably of all, the final. She should get plenty of well-earned recognition as a result.

In 2024-25: Eight goals, six assists, 19 clean sheets. Won European Championship, Women’s Super League, FA Cup & League Cup.

In recent years, many have started to write Lucy Bronze off, to assume that she is beyond her best years and nearing retirement. While she may not be in her prime anymore, she certainly still has plenty to give, as was evident throughout the 2024-25 season for club and country.

Plenty questioned her signing by Chelsea last year, as the Blues didn’t particularly need a right-back, but Bronze stepped up and showed why Sonia Bompastor sought her out, scoring the WSL title-clinching goal during a treble-winning campaign in which she was one of Chelsea’s best players.

She only backed that up during the summer, standing out as one of the top performers at Euro 2025 as England successfully defended their title. Her game-changing contributions in the quarter-final win over Sweden were a real highlight, with Bronze sure to be rewarded for her efforts across the whole campaign.

In 2024-25: 21 goals, 14 assists. Won Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Super Cup.

Caroline Graham Hansen has been the subject of her fair share of Ballon d'Or snubs over the years. Some would argue that she should've been in contention to win the award in 2019, after a scintillating season for Wolfsburg was followed up by a superb World Cup. The same goes for 2021, when she was right up there with Alexia Putellas as a star performer in Barcelona's first Champions League triumph. On both occasions, she didn't even make the longlist.

Last year, some justice was done. Graham Hansen placed second in the voting, just behind club-mate Bonmati. Yet, many believed the Norwegian was the more deserving victor. Bonmati herself even said as she accepted her award: "If Caro had won, I'd have been very happy, as she deserved it too."

So, what about this year? Could Graham Hansen finally get her hands on the accolade? She had another amazing club season with Barcelona and she was Norway's best player at Euro 2025. However, a quarter-final exit will count against her, especially as so many other players already in the mix performed so well at the tournament. It'll be interesting to see how she ranks in the voting and whether she does indeed slip down the pecking order because of the Euros and the weight so often placed upon it.

In 2024-25: 12 goals, 16 assists. Won Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Super Cup.

Patri Guijarro was incredible for Barcelona last season, but it's not always easy for her to really grab the headlines. As a holding midfielder in such a star-studded squad, it is often others who get the plaudits, which is perhaps no surprise given she regularly starts in a midfield trio with two double-Ballon d'Or winners.

Similar can be said when it comes to international duty. Guijarro was one of the best players at Euro 2025 as Spain reached the final - but how much attention will that garner from voters when compared to players who scored big goals?

What will help is that the 27-year-old has been nominated for this award before and she has racked up some quite remarkable numbers in the past year, despite her more conservative role.

In 2024-25: Six goals, 10 assists. Won European Championship & Champions League.

Chloe Kelly feels like a prime candidate to be thrust into the list of Ballon d'Or nominees off the back of her summer, rather than her season overall. That's not to put her down - after all, she had an amazing second half of the 2024-25 campaign once she got out of a difficult situation at Manchester City. On loan at Arsenal, her contributions were huge, propelling the Gunners to a surprise Champions League title.

However, it's unlikely she would be nominated for this award were it not for her achievements at the Euros with England. Kelly was a consistent game-changer for the Lionesses in a tournament that ended with her thumping home the title-winning penalty in a shootout victory over Spain.

There are so many previous examples of those performances on the biggest stage rocketing players into the upper echelons of the Ballon d'Or final ranking - such as Olga Carmona after the 2023 Women's World Cup and Beth Mead post-Euro 2022. Kelly is likely to enjoy a similar trajectory, albeit with a Champions League title also under her belt.

In 2024-25: 19 goals, 17 assists. Won European Championship & Champions League.

Alessia Russo has had her fair share of critics over the years. The Arsenal forward is by no means a relentless goal-scorer and her off-the-ball work can go unappreciated. Last season, though, she thrived in both areas in a more balanced and devastating way than ever before. Her two-goal display in the Gunners' rousing Champions League comeback against Real Madrid was a perfect example of this and she followed that up with a goal and an assist in the incredible semi-final win over Lyon.

Had Arsenal ended the season without a trophy, it may have been tough to see Russo get too many Ballon d'Or votes. However, that her exploits in Europe contributed to the Gunners' first continental title since 2007 makes a big difference. Throw in the goal she scored in the Euro 2025 final and her Golden Ball chances are likely to be strengthened.

In 2024-25: 20 goals, 16 assists. Won Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Super Cup.

Winner of the last two Ballons d'Or, it is not going to be easy for Aitana Bonmati to complete a three-peat, but she has a chance. The midfielder was again a vital cog in a Barcelona team that won a treble, with her world-class quality evident throughout the campaign. However, her goals and assists were not quite up there with some of her team-mates' - and, frustratingly, a lot of these awards are based on those particular stats.

When the 27-year-old was hospitalised with viral meningitis just before Euro 2025, it looked like her chances of winning another Golden Ball this year were long gone. Yet, she managed to recover in time to be such a factor in Spain's run to the final that she was named Player of the Tournament, against all odds.

Were the Ballon d'Or voters as impressed with Bonmati's performances in Switzerland as the UEFA panel? We'll soon find out.

In 2024-25: 27 goals, 21 assists. Won Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Super Cup.

Winner of the Golden Ball in 2021 and 2022, Alexia Putellas endured some tough times with injury in the years that followed, but she was back at her absolute best last season, going to a level arguably even beyond that she showed so regularly when winning those accolades back-to-back.

After winning a domestic treble with Barcelona, Putellas started Euro 2025 in sensational form too, with there no more impressive player in the group stages. However, she didn't quite grab the headlines in the knockouts and was surprisingly subbed off as Spain chased a winner in the final.

Based on the entire season, many would still say that Putellas deserves the Ballon d'Or. But some doubt has to now creep in about whether that will be the reality.

In 2024-25: 23 goals, 18 assists. Won Champions League.

It might just be Mariona Caldentey's year. No, she didn't win Euro 2025, but she did score a great goal in the final to remind everyone just how good she has been over the past 12 months. The Spaniard was Arsenal's best player throughout last season, standing out as a key reason why the Gunners were able to win the Champions League, and her performances didn't go under the radar either, with her named WSL Player of the Year.

That's a crucial point here, as Caldentey has long been underrated and overlooked, despite harbouring world-class talent for years. Now, she is starting to emerge into the limelight like never before, so much so that she looks like the new favourite to win the 2025 Ballon d'Or.