Overview
- Real Madrid leads club representation with three nominees — Dean Huijsen, Arda Güler and Franco Mastantuono — while Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsí is the lone Barça finalist.
- Franco Mastantuono is the only Argentine among the 25 and one of just two South Americans alongside Brazil’s Estevão.
- Coverage identifies PSG’s Désiré Doué as the leading favorite based on his breakout season and major-title performances.
- The shortlist was built from the Football Benchmark Index’s top 20 players supplemented by five editorial additions from Tuttosport.
- The field is heavily European in makeup, with 23 of 25 finalists from Europe, before the jury vote selects a successor to 2024 winner Lamine Yamal.