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BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
How is the Ballon d'Or winner decided?
The Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious individual prize in football, is awarded annually by France Football magazine to the player perceived to be the best in the winner is chosen through a dual system of voting. Firstly, journalists from France Football and fellow French publication L'Equipe work together to produce a combined list of 30 official nominees, based on players' performances in the previous season. This initial selection process sometimes also includes a small number of former one football journalist from each of the top 100 Fifa-ranked nations is invited to cast votes for their top 10 players in order from that shortlist. The 10 players are awarded 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point based on all journalists have submitted their top 10s, points are tallied and the winner of the Ballon d'Or is the player who accrued the most points in the voting, while the rest are ranked from second to players are tied on points, they are separated by the number of first place votes they received. If they are still level, the number of second place votes are used, and so taking part in the vote are encouraged to consider three factors:Individual performances, decisive and impressive characterTeam performances and achievementsClass and fair play Has the Ballon d'Or ever worked in a different way? The way in which the Ballon d'Or is awarded has changed significantly since it was first created in 1995, only European footballers were eligible for the award. Then, for the next 12 years, players of any origin playing for a club in Europe were eligible. Only from 2007 onwards have all players worldwide been 2007 and 2015, the captain and manager of each Fifa-recognised international team was invited to participate in the final vote, but both prior to that period and since then, only journalists have 2010 to 2015, Fifa collaborated with France Football on the award, which was known as the Fifa Ballon d' now give out their own separate prize, called the Fifa Best player award, but its lack of long-term history means the Ballon d'Or is generally considered more to 2022, voting was based on a player's performances over the course of a calendar year – comprising half of two separate seasons in most elite leagues – before being changed to encompass a single full season. What about the women's Ballon d'Or? The women's award, known as the Ballon d'or Feminine, was first created in has been won twice by Spain internationals Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas, as well as once each by Norway's Ada Hegerbeg and the USA's Megan is a slight nuance in the way the women's award is voted for - the same system of pre-selection followed by a jury of journalists is used, but only 50 journalists from the top-ranked nations are invited to take part, rather than 100. Who has won the most Ballon d'Or trophies? Having taken home the trophy eight times, Lionel Messi has won more the Ballon d'Or more often than any other rival Cristiano Ronaldo is second with five titles, while Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten won three di Stefano, Franz Beckenbauer, Kevin Keegan, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Ronaldo Nazario – each with two - are the only others to have won the men's Ballon d'Or more than once. Why is the Ballon d'Or sometimes criticised? The awarding of the Ballon d'Or sometimes draws criticism from fans and the past, complaints have focused on the fact that the award has historically favoured attacking midfielders and forwards over more defensive players. Only two centre-backs (Beckenbauer and Fabio Cannavaro) and one goalkeeper (Lev Yashin) have ever won the jury's tendency to vote for players whose teams have won the biggest prizes in the game that year, like the World Cup and Champions League, has also caused controversy in the past. Some believe collective achievement should not impact voting, and that a player who has performed highly as an individual should not miss out because his team was less the fact that the main award is voted form by journalists, rather than players, coaches, or ex-professionals, has occasionally led to for some fans, the concept of an individual award in a team sport renders the Ballon d'Or unimportant. When will the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner be announced? The 2025 Ballon d'Or winner will be announced on 22 September 2025 during a ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in central Paris.A variety of other awards are given out during the ceremony, including:The Kopa Trophy - awarded to the best player below the age of 2021, voting for this award is performed by previous Ballon d'Or winners based on a shortlist of Yashin Trophy – awarded to the best goalkeeper, voting for this award is performed by journalists based on a shortlist of Coach of the Year trophy - awarded to the best manager, voting for this award is performed by journalists based on a Club of the Year trophy - awarded to the best team, voting for this award is performed by journalists based on a shortlist. Who are the Ballon d'Or contenders in 2025? The following players are considered among the main contenders for the 2025 men's Ballon d'Or, based on their performances since 1 August 2024 with one more international window of fixtures and the Club World Cup before 31 July Dembele (Paris St-Germain/France, forward, 28)Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy, goalkeeper, 26)Desire Doue (PSG/France, forward, 19)Kvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG/Georgia, forward, 24)Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/France, forward, 26)Lautaro Martinez (Inter/Argentina, forward, 27)Pedri (Barcelona, midfielder, 22)Raphinha (Barcelona/Brazil, forward, 28)Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt, forward, 32)Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain, forward, 17) What is Ask Me Anything? This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team. Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you team explores everything you need to know and calls upon a network of contacts including our experts and answer your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and go behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting coverage spans the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio. More questions answered... Why are 1bn euro release clauses becoming more common?When are the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures released?Who has qualified for the 2025-26 Champions League?Why are footballers allowed to chew gum?How are football league positions decided if teams are level on points?
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Two PSG stars receive rare 10/10 rating from L'Equipe following dominant Champions League triumph... but an Inter Milan player gets a ONE after enduring nightmare evening
Two PSG stars were handed a perfect 10/10 rating by L'Equipe following their side's Champions League triumph over Inter Milan on Saturday night. The Ligue 1 giants were looking to win their first ever European Cup and did so in some style as they thrashed Inter 5-0 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. L'Equipe are notorious for being particularly brutal with their ratings, reserving the highest marks for truly exceptional performances, but even they could hardly find fault with PSG's display in the final. Desire Doue received a 10 after scoring twice and providing an assist before he was substituted in the second half. L'Equipe described his performance as simply 'stunning' as the teenager lit up the biggest stage. He may feel he was a little hard done by to not get the chance to complete his hat-trick when he was taken off, but L'Equipe had no issue with Luis Enrique's management as they also gave the PSG boss a perfect 10. They hailed the Spaniard for picking Doue over Bradley Barcola on the right wing - a call that paid off handsomely - and described his coaching performance as a 'total success'. It was an emotional evening for Enrique as he paid tribute to his late daughter, Xana, after the match by wearing a T-shirt depicting her placing a PSG flag into the pitch, just like she had done with the Barcelona flag a decade earlier when Enrique won the Champions League with the Catalan giants in 2015. No PSG player received a mark below seven, such was their dominance, with Ballon d'Or contender Ousmane Dembele getting an eight. He was joined on the same mark by midfield trio Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz, plus defenders Achraf Hakimi and Pacho. Hakimi opened the scoring on the night, his fourth goal of PSG's European campaign, but refused to celebrate against his former club. The ratings did not make such pretty reading for Inter's players, though, after a nightmare evening for Simone Inzaghi's men. Left wing-back Federico Dimarco received only a 1/10 after playing Inter's forwards onside for the first goal, and then deflecting Doue's shot into his own net for PSG's second. He was replaced in the early stages of the second half with L'Equipe branding his showing 'a shipwreck'. Only three of his team-mates were marked above a two - Benjamin Pavard (4), Alessandro Bastoni (3) and Marcus Thuram (4). Inzaghi was not spared criticism either as he received a two, with L'Equipe arguing that he may have shown too much emotion in the build-up to the game, leading to his players failing to keep their composure on the pitch. The Italian manager has been linked with a summer switch to Saudi Arabia, and L'Equipe deemed potentially his final match on the Inter bench to be a 'fiasco' as the Serie A giants were completely humiliated.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Richard Hughes makes contact to sign SPECIAL €60m attacker
© IMAGO - Arne Slot Richard Hughes Liverpool 2024-25 That's according to the ever reliable French publication L'Equipe who claim that Liverpool are among the clubs who have made contact to sign AS Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche. The report claims Liverpool have made contact with Monaco but have asked for patience (we wonder why? Perhaps because of Wirtz?). Advertisement It also adds that Paris Saint Germain are interested however they are only able to offer €50m for the 23-year-old, whereas Monaco are holding out for €60m. The French youth international would be an exciting player for Liverpool. Akliouche had made 19 goal contributions this season, often playing as an attacking midfielder on the right. One of Akliouche's best assets is his creativity. He's averaged the most key passes (1.04 per 90) in Ligue 1. Meanwhile, he ranks third for expected assists (0.23 xA per 90).
Associated Press
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Caroline Garcia says she is retiring from tennis, will play at her final French Open
PARIS (AP) — Caroline Garcia, a former U.S. Open semifinalist who has been ranked as high as No. 4, says she will retire from tennis. As she prepares to play at the French Open for a 14th consecutive appearance, the Frenchwoman said on social media that 'it's time to say goodbye.' 'After 15 years competing at the highest level, and over 25 years devoting almost every second of my life to this sport, I feel ready to turn the page and open a new chapter,' Garcia said. 'That said, it's not quite over yet. I still have a few tournaments to play. The first one, at home, at Roland-Garros.' Garcia, who has won 11 titles but is now ranked No. 145, will play against Bernarda Pera in the first round. The 31-year-old Garcia first reached the No. 4 spot in September 2018. After several inconsistent years marred by doubts and injuries, Garcia took a break from tennis in March 2022 to nurse an injured foot. The pause brought dividends as she enjoyed a tremendous second half of that season with several titles, including at the WTA Finals, to go with her semifinal appearance at the U.S. Open. Two years ago, she revealed in an interview with L'Equipe newspaper that she had to deal with bulimia for a spell, triggered by losses and pain from the lingering foot injury that affected her daily life. 'My journey hasn't always been easy,' Garcia said on Friday. 'Since the beginning, tennis has meant so much more than wins and losses. It was love or hate. Joy or frustration. And despite everything, I'm deeply grateful for all that this adventure has brought me. For everything tennis has given me. For the strong, passionate, and determined woman it helped me become. But now, it's time to move on. My body — and my personal aspirations — are telling me so.' ___ AP tennis:
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caroline Garcia says she is retiring from tennis, will play at her final French Open
PARIS (AP) — Caroline Garcia, a former U.S. Open semifinalist who has been ranked as high as No. 4, says she will retire from tennis. As she prepares to play at the French Open for a 14th consecutive appearance, the Frenchwoman said on social media that 'it's time to say goodbye.' Advertisement 'After 15 years competing at the highest level, and over 25 years devoting almost every second of my life to this sport, I feel ready to turn the page and open a new chapter,' Garcia said. 'That said, it's not quite over yet. I still have a few tournaments to play. The first one, at home, at Roland-Garros.' Garcia, who has won 11 titles but is now ranked No. 145, will play against Bernarda Pera in the first round. The 31-year-old Garcia first reached the No. 4 spot in September 2018. After several inconsistent years marred by doubts and injuries, Garcia took a break from tennis in March 2022 to nurse an injured foot. The pause brought dividends as she enjoyed a tremendous second half of that season with several titles, including at the WTA Finals, to go with her semifinal appearance at the U.S. Open. Two years ago, she revealed in an interview with L'Equipe newspaper that she had to deal with bulimia for a spell, triggered by losses and pain from the lingering foot injury that affected her daily life. Advertisement 'My journey hasn't always been easy,' Garcia said on Friday. 'Since the beginning, tennis has meant so much more than wins and losses. It was love or hate. Joy or frustration. And despite everything, I'm deeply grateful for all that this adventure has brought me. For everything tennis has given me. For the strong, passionate, and determined woman it helped me become. But now, it's time to move on. My body — and my personal aspirations — are telling me so.' ___ AP tennis:
