The 2025 Ballon d’Or awards may proceed without several Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) stars following a late change to the French Ligue 1 schedule.
Organisers have moved the high-profile Le Classique clash between PSG and Marseille to Monday night because of forecasts of severe storms in southern France. The rescheduling now puts the fixture in direct conflict with the prestigious Ballon d’Or ceremony taking place at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet.
Among those expected at the awards is Ousmane Dembélé, one of the frontrunners for the men’s Ballon d’Or after inspiring PSG to their Champions League triumph in May and the European Super Cup victory in August.
PSG have the highest number of nominees this year, with Dembélé and nine other players shortlisted across different categories. But with the Marseille game kicking off at the same time, many of these players may be forced to prioritise club duty over attending football’s most celebrated individual event.
Head coach Luis Enrique is already missing Dembélé and youngster Désiré Doué through injury. Their absence from the match could allow them to attend the ceremony if they wish.
Officials in the Bouches-du-Rhône region, home to the Vélodrome stadium, issued an orange weather alert warning of heavy rain, flooding and thunderstorms, prompting the postponement of the originally scheduled Sunday fixture for safety reasons.
This scheduling clash comes a year after Real Madrid made headlines by boycotting the 2024 Ballon d’Or in protest over Vinícius Júnior losing the top award to Manchester City’s Rodri. This time, however, PSG’s possible no-show would be due to an unavoidable fixture reshuffle rather than a statement of dissent.
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