Ballon d'Or 2025: Flamengo's Vini Jr up for best player award

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·7. August 2025

Ballon d'Or 2025: Flamengo's Vini Jr up for best player award

Revealed by Flamengo, Vini Jr. is among the 30 nominees for the award; ceremony takes place on September 22 in Paris

Vini Jr., an attacker revealed by Flamengo and currently at Real Madrid (ESP), is once again on the list of contenders for the Ballon d'Or award. The Brazilian player is among the 30 main candidates for the prestigious Golden Ball award, given annually by France Football magazine, which will award the best player of the 2024/2025 season.

The ceremony that will announce the winner of the Ballon d'Or award will take place on September 22 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. In addition to Vini Jr., the list of contenders includes another Brazilian: Raphinha, an attacker for Barcelona (ESP). This way, both highlight Brazilian football among the main names in world football.

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WHAT IS THE LIST OF 30 CONTESTANTS?

Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool-ING)
Cole Palmer (Chelsea-ING)
Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain-FRA)
Declan Rice (Arsenal-ING)
Denzel Dumfries (Inter de Milão-ITA)
Désiré Doué (Paris Saint-Germain-FRA)
Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain-FRA)
Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen-ALE)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain-FRA)
Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund-ALE)
Haaland (Manchester City-ING)
Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain-FRA)
Harry Kane (Bayern de Munique-ALE)
João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain-FRA)
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid-ESP)
Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain-FRA)
Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid-ESP)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona-ESP)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter de Milão-ITA)
Michael Olise (Bayern de Munique-ALE)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool-ING)
Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain-ALE)
Pedri (Barcelona-ESP)
Raphinha (Barcelona-ESP)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona-ESP)
Scott Mctominay (Napoli-ITA)
Van Dijk (Liverpool-ING)
Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting-POR)
Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain-FRA)
Vini Jr. (Real Madrid-ESP)

HAS VINI JR. ALREADY WON THE GOLDEN BALL AWARD?

Vini Jr. has already come very close to winning the Ballon d'Or, but ended up finishing second in the 2023/2024 season, losing the award to midfielder Rodri of Manchester City. Still, the Cria do Ninho achieved an impressive feat: he secured the best placement of a Brazilian since Kaká won in 2007. Before him, the most prominent Brazilian near the top was Neymar, who finished third in the 2015 and 2017 editions.

Despite finishing second in the Golden Ball, Vini Jr. was elected for the first time in 2023/2024 as the best player in the world in the The Best FIFA award. The attacker won a vote that included ten other nominated players. Meanwhile, Spanish midfielder Rodri finished in second place.

WHO REPRESENTS BRAZIL IN WOMEN'S FOOTBALL?

Brazil maintains a strong presence among the best coaches in women's football with the indication of Arthur Elias, coach of the Brazilian national team. Recently crowned champion of the Copa América, the coach is the only Brazilian listed among the candidates. In addition, players Amanda Gutierres and Marta also received nominations for the award for best in the world, reinforcing the strength of Brazilian women's football.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.