Two Barcelona players to skip Ballon d’Or ceremony despite nominations

There are a number of Barcelona personnel up for awards during Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, hosted by France Football. The main awards sees Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri in competition, while Hansi Flick has also been nominated for Coach of the Year.

On top of this, Barcelona Femeni have a number of candidates in contention for the Ballon d’Or Féminin: Aitana Bonmatí, Alexia Putellas, Caroline Graham Hansen, Patri Guijarro, Ewa Pajor, Claudia Pina, Vicky López and Cata Coll. And to accompany all of the aforementioned names, there will be club officials in attendance, including Joan Laporta, president of the club; Rafael Yuste, sports vice-president; Elena Fort, institutional vice-president; and the directors Joan Soler and Xavier Puig.

However, it has now been confirmed by MD that two Barcelona players will not attend the ceremony in Paris: Pedri and Robert Lewandowski – these absences are said to be “surprising”, as per the report.

Neither player is considered a frontrunner for the main award

Lamine Yamal is considered to be among the two favourites for the award, alongside Ousmane Dembele, while Raphinha is also in contention after he recorded the best season of his career thus far in 2024-25. But despite impressing themselves over the last 12 months, neither Pedri and Robert Lewandowski are believed to be in contention to win the Ballon d’Or, which is likely the reason why they will not be in attendance.

It remains to be seen whether there will be further clarification for Pedri and Lewandowski not making the trip to Paris for the Ballon d’Or ceremony before Barcelona’s expedition make the short trip from the Catalan capital. Nevertheless, those in attendance will be hoping to celebrate one way or another with at least one award win, which many hope will be Lamine Yamal’s in the main one of the night.