Barcelona legend Ronaldinho to give out 2025 Ballon d'Or as Lamine Yamal & Ousmane Dembele vie for football's most prestigious individual prize

According to Cadena COPE, Barcelona legend and 2005 Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldinho is all set to hand out the Golden Ball in Paris on Monday night. Incidentally, former Barca star Dembele and current Camp Nou sensation Yamal are considered to be the two frontrunners for this year's prize.

🟡 How to watch the Ballon d'Or 2025 ceremony

Mundo Deportivo claims that another ex-Barca star, Hristo Stoichkov, who won the award in 1994, was initially picked to present the award. Stoichkov had publicly mentioned that he would be the one to give out the prize, however, Ronaldinho has now been picked as the main guest at the ceremony in Paris.

Kylian Mbappe, Pedri and Robert Lewandowski are among the star names unlikely to be present in Paris to attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony. Real Madrid star Mbappe has publicly stated that he will watch the show on television, while backing compatriot Dembele to win the award. Barca duo Pedro and Lewandowski, on the other hand, will skip the event as they are reportedly not in the running to win the prize.

Despite being the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or, it has been suggested that Dembele won't be present in Paris on Monday as PSG are set to face Marseille in a rescheduled Ligue 1 fixture. The Classique was postponed on Sunday due to extreme weather conditions. However, Dembele, who is one of eight PSG players nominated for the Ballon d'Or, was left out of Luis Enrique's initial squad for the game due to injury, and may yet remain in Paris for the ceremony while his team-mates head back to Marseille.