Real Madrid and Barcelona tied at 12 Ballon d'Or trophies: Lamine Yamal and Mbappé chase the tiebreaker

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid arrive at the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony locked in a historic tie: twelve awards for each side. The gala on October 26 at the London Palladium could finally tip the balance one way or the other. And the duel attracting most of the attention is the one between Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé, the two candidates who best embody the current rivalry between the Catalan and Madrid clubs.

• Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are level on 12 Ballon d'Or trophies in their historic records.
• At just 19, Lamine Yamal has already won eight titles with club and country, plus a Golden Boy award and two Kopa Trophies.
• Kylian Mbappé arrives after winning the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, but he lifted no trophies last season.
• The ceremony takes place on Monday, October 26 at the London Palladium, with the Yamal-Mbappé battle as the main media storyline.

How the historic Ballon d'Or battle between Barcelona and Real Madrid stands

The distribution of awards between Spain's two biggest clubs is perfectly balanced at the very top of the record books. Each side has claimed twelve Ballon d'Or trophies, a figure that turns their private duel into one of the main attractions of every edition. However, when the focus shifts to second and third places, Barcelona's dominance becomes far more commanding.

Much of that superiority on the podium has a name: Leo Messi. The Argentine won six Ballon d'Or awards as a Barcelona player and finished second on five other occasions. His constant presence among the favourites, even in seasons when he no longer wore the blaugrana shirt, explains the historic weight of the Catalan club in this individual competition.

The 2010 gala, the night Barcelona swept the Ballon d'Or podium

Any conversation about the Ballon d'Or and FC Barcelona must include the 2010 ceremony. That year, Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández occupied the top three positions, a historic clean sweep that no other club has managed to repeat. The image of three homegrown Barcelona players at the summit symbolises better than almost anything the golden era of the club's possession-based football.

The 2024 turning point: Rodri, Real Madrid's boycott and the Vinicius obsession

The 2024 edition marked a before and after in Real Madrid's relationship with the Ballon d'Or. The club pushed hard for Vinicius Jr. to win it, but the trophy ended up in the hands of Rodri, the Manchester City star. The decision prompted a boycott of the ceremony by Madrid, an episode that many analysts saw as evidence of Florentino Pérez's institutional wear and tear.

That decline has not stopped the Madrid president, who renewed his mandate in June with 65% of the vote compared to 35% for Enrique Riquelme. Even so, the fight to dominate Spanish football has a clear reflection in the Ballon d'Or, where tensions between the two clubs remain visible.

Lamine Yamal against Kylian Mbappé: records and numbers behind the 2025 Ballon d'Or duel

The main attraction of this edition is the head-to-head between Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé. Although Harry Kane also features among the contenders, the battle generating the most media interest is the one between the Mataró-born forward and the Frenchman. Two different sporting projects, two styles and one shared goal: breaking the tie at twelve between their clubs.

Lamine Yamal's precocious trophy cabinet at 19

Lamine Yamal's numbers at his age are extraordinary. At just 19 he has won three La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups and one Copa del Rey. When the European Championship and the World Cup are added, his tally rises to eight trophies. He finished second in last year's Ballon d'Or and already has a Golden Boy award and two Kopa Trophies, along with unquestionable stardom in the Spanish national team.

Kylian Mbappé's recent titles and his departure from PSG

Mbappé has won two trophies over the past two seasons: a UEFA Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup. Last season he lifted no silverware at all. On an individual level, his records are huge: Pichichi, a European Golden Shoe, Champions League top scorer and World Cup Golden Boot. On top of that comes a widely discussed detail: Luis Enrique publicly stated that PSG would play better without him, and the Parisian club won the Champions League in the two years following his exit.

Lamine's emergence and the natural succession after the Messi era at Barcelona

Lamine Yamal's breakthrough roughly coincided with Messi's departure from Barcelona. For the club, the continuity between the career of the greatest player of all time and the emergence of a new academy star is far more than a coincidence: it is a privilege rarely seen in football history. When the economic cost of having both players in the squad is also taken into account, the scale of this succession becomes even more exceptional.

A new way of fighting for the Ballon d'Or: from Messi's silence to Yamal's boldness

Lamine has also broken the traditional dynamic of the Ballon d'Or. It is no longer only the clubs fighting for the trophy behind the scenes. The young Barcelona star, as Mbappé has already done, considers himself deserving of the award and has said so publicly. Messi never spoke about it that way, which is why hearing Lamine talk so openly about his chances feels striking.

It is better to see the number 10 of Barça and the number 10 of Real Madrid discussing the matter publicly and with confidence than to have clubs, especially Real Madrid, campaigning behind the scenes for the trophy to end up in the hands of one of their players.

On Monday, October 26, the London Palladium will deliver its verdict. It will be clear whether the tie between Barcelona and Real Madrid is broken and who takes home the Ballon d'Or in the 2025 edition.