“Will an American ever win the Ballon d’Or one day?” asks Kurt Perleberg. Well, Megan Rapinoe won, and I bet another USWNT player will follow suit in the next few years.

As for the men’s award, it’s hard to imagine that happening in the near future. It seems to me that many US players with great potential end up reaching their limits – Gio Reyna, Folarin Balogun, Weston McKennie and even Christian Pulisic. But who knows.

Live men’s rankings

16 Granit Xhaka (Leverkusen/Switzerland)
17 Federico Valverde (Real Madrid/Uruguay)
18 Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa/Argentina)
19 Martin Odegaard (Arsenal/Norway)
20 Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter/Türkiye)
21 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England)
22 Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid/Germany)
23 Ruben Dias (Man City/Portugal)
24 William Saliba (Arsenal/France)
25 Cole Palmer (Chelsea/England)
26 Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
27 Vitinha (PSG/Portugal)
28 Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen/Spain)
=29 Mats Hummels (Roma/Germany)
=29 Artem Dovbyk (Roma/Ukraine)

Remaining nominees: Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Toni Kroos, Ademola Lookman, Lautaro Martínez, Kylian Mbappé, Dani Olmo, Rodri, Vinícius Júnior, Nico Williams, Florian Wirtz, Lamine Yamal.

Some big names are missing from the women’s top 30 – including Naomi Girma, Keira Walsh, Kadidiatou Diani and Olga Carmona. There will be no Kopa or Yashin award given to a player at tonight’s ceremony, but will take place on the eve of Euro 2025 qualifying. Does the Ballon d’Or really treat women’s football equally?

Live Women’s Awards Ranking:

11 Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain)
12 Barbra Banda (Orlando/Zambia)
13 Lauren James (Chelsea/England)
14 Ada Hegerberg (Lyon/Norway)
15 Khadija Shaw (Man City/Jamaica)
16 Tabitha Chawinga (PSG/Malawi)
17 Alyssa Naher (Chicago/USA)
18 Gabi Portilho (Corinthians/Brazil)
19 Giulia Gwinn (Bavaria/Germany)
20 Lucy Bronze (Chelsea/England)
21 Mayra Ramírez (Chelsea/Colombia)
22 Glódis Viggósdóttir (Bavaria/Iceland)
23 Tarciane (Houston/Brazil)
24 Lea Schüller (Bavaria/Germany)
25 Sjœke Nüsken (Chelsea/Germany)
26 Yui Hasegawa (Man City/Japan)
27 Manuela Giugliano (Roma/Italy)
28 Lauren Hemp (Man City/England)
29 Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg/Poland)
30 Grace Geyoro (PSG/France)

Remaining nominations: Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey, Caroline Graham Hansen, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Salma Paralluelo, Alexia Putellas, Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan.

Here are the balls that will be distributed tonight at the Théâtre du Châtelet:

• Men’s Ballon d’Or

• Women’s Ballon d’Or

• Kopa Trophy (best U21 player)

• Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper)

• Gerd Müller Trophy (top scorer)

• Men’s Club of the Year

• Women’s Club of the Year

• Men’s Coach of the Year

• Women’s Coach of the Year

Here’s more on the big news of the day and the 30-player rosters announced in September. The countdown has begun, so we’ll bring you the latest as soon as possible…

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