Ballon d’Or, a new favorite announced!

Who will win the 2025 Ballon d’Or? For Thierry Henry, a new candidate is in the running to succeed Rodri.

It’s only March, and already a list of favorites for the 2025 Ballon d’Or is emerging. Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Jr., Robert Lewandowski, and Mohamed Salah: many are in the running for this award, which every player dreams of winning at least once during their career.

One of the former stars of French football, Thierry Henry, has named the man he believes deserves to succeed Rodri on the trophy list. And against all odds, it’s not a big name that everyone agrees on!

Ballon d’Or: Thierry Henry announces a surprise

On CBS Sports, the former Gunner indicated that current FC Barcelona player Raphinha is one of the favorites to win the title. It must be said that with 27 goals and 19 assists in 41 matches across all competitions, the Brazilian is having an exceptional season, particularly thanks to his performances in the Champions League. “For me, he’s ahead right now because of what he’s doing in the Champions League with eleven goals,” said Thierry Henry.

The former French striker then stated that players like Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Ousmane Dembélé are also serious contenders for the Ballon d’Or, but that Raphinha’s versatility makes the difference: “If you perform well in the Champions League, if you win your league, you’ll obviously have a say. But Raphinha has scored a lot of goals with only one penalty.” I’m not saying Kane shouldn’t take penalties, and Mo Salah is having a Premier League season that we won’t see again even though records are there to be broken, but if a guy has the same goal tally as you without taking penalties, you should talk to him a bit more…”

As every year, we’ll have to wait until the end of October to officially know the name of the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner. While the odds are already out, they will continue to be refined as the season progresses. One thing is certain: the Champions League will be one of the determining factors in determining Rodri’s successor.