Victor Osimhen’s absence from the 2025 Ballon d’Or shortlist sparked shock and debate across Nigeria, Africa, and the wider football world. After a hugely productive season in Turkey — where he scored prolifically and helped Galatasaray reclaim the title — many expected his name among the 30 nominees. Instead, voters looked elsewhere. Below, I break down six clear, evidence-based reasons why Osimhen was left out — and what it means for his case going forward.
Quick snapshot
Short answer: Despite an outstanding domestic season and eye-catching goals, Osimhen was missing from a shortlist dominated by players from Europe’s top five leagues and those who performed on the UEFA Champions League stage. Key factors: league visibility, Champions League exposure, voting criteria, and powerful competing narratives.
1) He finished the year outside Europe’s “big five” leagues — and the shortlist reflected that
France Football’s editorial shortlist for 2025 overwhelmingly favoured players plying their trade in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, or Ligue 1. By contrast, Osimhen’s permanent deal to Galatasaray (a record move for Turkey) placed him in the Süper Lig — a league with huge passion and local coverage but less weighting in the Ballon d’Or conversation. Voters and the editorial staff historically give more attention to the top five leagues when compiling the 30 nominees.
2) Champions League (and big European nights) still carry outsized influence
The Ballon d’Or is decided on a mixture of individual form and team achievements — and nothing magnifies a player’s case like decisive performances on the Champions League knockout stage. Ousmane Dembélé’s 2025 win — propelled by a standout Champions League campaign for PSG — underlines that reality. Players who sparkle on that stage benefit from global visibility in front of the journalists who vote. Osimhen’s spectacular domestic numbers in Turkey simply didn’t come with the same Champions League narrative weight in the award year.
3) Voters prize collective trophies and season-long narrative — and rival narratives were stronger
Ballon d’Or jurors evaluate both individual impact and team success. This year’s shortlist contained multiple players who combined staggering individual numbers with major trophies or memorable finals runs — stories that dominate headlines and voting ballots. Despite his goal haul, Osimhen’s season was framed as a domestic success in Turkey rather than a Europe-wide storyline: that made it harder to compete with nominees whose seasons included league titles in top five leagues or a Champions League triumph.
4) League quality perception and statistical context (goals matter, but context matters more)
Numbers alone don’t win the Ballon d’Or — they have to be read against the level of opposition and in competitions that voters value. Reuters and other outlets highlighted Osimhen’s remarkable season with Galatasaray — prolific goal returns and trophies — but many voters weigh those figures against goals and decisive contributions in the top European competitions. In short, you can score 35–40 goals in any league, but goals in the Premier League, La Liga, or Champions League still carry extra cachet in the minds of voters.
5) Timing and the permanent transfer created a perception of a “transition year”
Osimhen’s move from Napoli to Galatasaray became permanent in late July 2025 after a loan spell — a narrative that, oddly, can work against a player in Ballon d’Or terms. Transfers and loan stories sometimes make the calendar year look like a transition rather than a consolidated peak. Voters prefer players who look unstoppable in the season under consideration; a big-money move to a different league can shift the conversation to adaptation and context rather than raw, repeatable dominance. (Note: Galatasaray’s record signing was well reported.)
6) Competition was brutally strong — and media narratives drive votes
Finally, this was a year stacked with career-defining campaigns from players in the media spotlight. When nominees deliver unforgettable moments — Champions League finals, decisive international tournament displays, viral sequences — journalists remember those moments when casting ballots. The 2025 shortlist and eventual winner reflected several such narratives; Osimhen’s domestic brilliance, no matter how real, was competing with more globally visible storylines. Fan anger at his omission has been loud in Nigeria, but the awards process privileges narratives as much as raw data.
Short takeaway: Was Osimhen unfairly treated?
Unfair is a value judgment — but it’s fair to say his omission was controversial. He delivered elite goal numbers, won trophies, and captured headlines in Turkey. What he lacked — in the eyes of Ballon d’Or voters — was sustained, high-profile impact on Europe’s most-watched stages and the extra narrative fuel that Champions League success provides. The award’s structure and media dynamics help explain the outcome, even if the emotional response from fans is to cry foul.
What Osimhen (and fans) should focus on next
If Osimhen wants to make the Ballon d’Or conversation unavoidable in future editions, the obvious checklist is:
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Sustain fitness and avoid interruptions so his availability isn’t questioned. (Injury history and short absences have been tracked by outlets and data sites.)
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Perform in Europe’s biggest fixtures — Champions League nights or marquee friendlies deliver the global narrative.
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Win high-level trophies or produce iconic, memorable moments with Nigeria on big international platforms. His brace for Nigeria in a 2025 qualifier showed he can produce those moments — he just needs more of them in the right arenas.
Final thoughts
Victor Osimhen remains one of the most exciting strikers of his generation. Missing the 2025 Ballon d’Or shortlist doesn’t negate what he did in Turkey — it reflects how the award’s mechanics, league prestige, geography, and media narratives intersect. For Osimhen, the route back to Ballon d’Or contention is straightforward in principle (big performances, on the biggest stages), difficult in practice — and absolutely achievable for a player of his profile.
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