Ah, no, Vinicius is going to cry again, isn't he?
Time was that the Ballon d'Or was a lovely little end-of-year footnote, but has now ballooned (or should that be balloned? No) to a degree of such apparent importance to some players that it is more important than the boring old trophies that get handed out for, you know, winning football matches and stuff.
In any case, excitement is already building for who might scoop the 2025 Ballon d'Or - and the early favourite has already been displaced at the top of the power rankings.
Ballon d’Or 2025 power ranking: The bookies’ odds for the award
All odds from Bet365.
1. Mohamed Salah (3/1)
Well, yes, obviously. Well into double figures for both goals and assists already, Mo Salah has Liverpool flying high at the top of the table both in the Premier League and in the Champions League.
The winger's sensational form means he has also leapt to the top of the running for this year's Ballon d'Or.
An injury-hit campaign last season meant Salah wasn't even shortlisted last year, and he's never finished higher than fifth in the standings. Might this be his year? And will he still be a Liverpool player by the time the ceremony rolls around?
2. Vinicius Junior (5/1)
2024's completely graceless runner-up refused to accept that any other footballer anywhere in the world might possibly be considered to have had a marginally better year than him, with his solipsistic world view bizarrely backed up by his club and teammates.
"Ooh but I won the Champions League". Yes you did Vini. You know what your prize for that was? The Champions League. That's...that's how all of this works.
France Football may be well advised to buy a special little trophy from the supermarket for Vinicius Jr to play with if, as the bookies expect, he misses out again this year. He's now only the second-favourite. And we hope he continues to come second every year until the end of time.
3. Lamine Yamal (13/2)
While there's general agreement among the bookies about Salah at 1 and Vinicius Jr at 2 (with a handful placing them level pegging), the rest of the field does vary depending who you ask.
But for our purposes here, Lamine Yamal currently has the bronze position on the Ballon d'Or podium, which sadly is not actually a real thing but should be. Go all the way or go home, cowards.
Euro 2024 won't be considered for the 2025 award (it was included in last year's) but Yamal's form for Barcelona has been eye-catching enough on its own. He's contributed close to a goal or assist every game this season - though at 17, he has plenty of time to pick up individual accolades in future if he misses out this time.
4. Kylian Mbappe (7/1)
It's objectively funny when a footballer makes a move specifically to bolster their chances of winning a Ballon d'Or. Hello, Neymar, if you're reading.
So it's mildly delightful to see that Kylian Mbappe is considered less than half as likely as current forerunner Salah to win it this year.
Mbappe has been fine for Real Madrid, but perhaps not at the levels they would have hoped for when they dumped mountains of cash at his feet to attract him from PSG.
5. Robert Lewandowski (12/1)
Generally considered to have been robbed of the award in 2020 after the Ballon d'Or was cancelled for pandemic-related reasons, Lewandowski has had to console himself with the special centre-forward award that was seemingly created just for him to win in 2021.
Victories for out-and-out strikers have been surprisingly rare in the 21st century, though: the list extends only to Michael Owen, Ronaldo, Andriy Shevchenko, Karim Benzema, and arguably latter-period Cristiano Ronaldo.
As such, Lewandowski is still considered a bit of a long shot despite being on course for a goal-per-game season for Barcelona.
The others…
Jude Bellingham is not particularly fancied at 14/1, probably not helped by the Real Madrid side being full of even shinier fancy names.
We dare say Erling Haaland is going to have to do something bloody spectacular from here to cut down his 16/1 odds, which he shares with Barcelona's Raphinha.
Harry Kane is in much the same boat as Lewandowski despite enjoying an excellent season at Bayern Munich; he's considered no more likely to win it than the charismatic and eloquent Cole Palmer at 20/1.
