By Nwanze Amechi Moses

With the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony upon us, one provocative question is making the rounds: Do you need to lift the Champions League to even have a shot at winning the Ballon d’Or? Franck Ribéry’s old grievance from 2013 — when Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or despite Ribéry’s Bayern Munich having won the Champions League — feels more relevant than ever. Back then, many pointed out that Ribéry’s achievements were arguably greater yet he lost out in the world’s most prestigious individual prize. Can this kind of tension help us understand what might happen tonight?

This year, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) did win the 2024-25 Champions League — their first ever — demolishing Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.   Ousmane Dembélé, PSG’s standout attacker, is the heavy favorite for the Ballon d’Or.   So, does this alignment of team success and individual performance make his case nearly unassailable — or does it raise questions about whether Champions League winners are always given bias?

Looking back, history shows the answer is messy. In 2013, Ribéry won the Champions League (along with domestic titles) yet lost the Ballon d’Or to Ronaldo. Other years show winners without a UCL triumph: Messi in 2019 is a case in point—Barcelona didn’t win Europe’s top club trophy, yet his individual dominance carried the day. Similarly, the awards voting system (30 nominees, journalists scoring based on votes etc.) allows strong individual seasons to be rewarded even if the player’s team fails in Europe.  

So tonight, as voters decide: will it be the player who won everything, or the one whose statistics, narrative, or influence stood out the most — even if they didn’t lift the Champions League? Will Ribéry’s question finally be answered in favor of consistency, or will the trophy cabinet still carry the decisive weight?

In short: does winning the Champions League guarantee you the Ballon d’Or? No, history says it doesn’t. But as of 2025, with PSG’s UCL win and Dembélé as the frontrunner, the scales seem firmly tipped. Whether tonight’s winner confirms that tilt — or upends it — is what makes this Ballon d’Or such a must-watch event.