Chelsea’s talismanic playmaker Cole Palmer has finished a lofty eighth in the voting for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, which represents a significant improvement from last season.
Palmer beat out the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Pedri, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior and others in the final ranking.
The England international started the 2024–25 campaign in fine form, notably racking up four first-half goals against Brighton & Hove Albion last September. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca insisted with all seriousness that Palmer “could have scored two or three more,” yet he would only find the net from open play three more times until Christmas.
Chelsea collectively endured a dip of form around the festive period as a proliferation of attacking injuries forced a hulking creative burden upon Palmer. A combination of almost every opponent dedicating one player to man-mark the 23-year-old and simple bad luck underpinned an 18-game goal drought between January and the start of May.
Palmer would break his duck against freshly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool towards the end of the campaign before truly rediscovering his best form as spring turned to summer.
It was a pair of assists from Palmer which inspired Chelsea to come from behind to defeat Real Betis in the Conference League final. Walking around with his Player of the Match award tucked inside his shorts—as he pointed out, he had no pockets—Palmer revealed the frustration behind his revelation.
“I was just sick of getting the ball and going backwards and sideways,” he shrugged postgame. “I thought when I next get the ball I’m going to go and it worked. It’s a good feeling for us and the fans. We just picked up the intensity and put on a good performance in the second half.”
Palmer would save another pretty impressive performance for the first half of Chelsea’s next appearance in a final. The perennially nonchalant playmaker scored the opening two goals before setting up João Pedro in the space of 21 blistering minutes to stun Paris Saint-Germain in July’s Club World Cup final. The imperious, all-conquering European champions had no answer for the unassuming kid from Wythenshawe.
After coming a respectable 25th last year, Palmer’s rise up the rankings has seen him finish above a squall of lofty figures. His English compatriots Declan Rice (27th) and Jude Bellingham (23rd) both trail while Liverpool’s £116 million ($156.7 million) summer recruit Florian Wirtz could only climb to 29th.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cole Palmer Secures Remarkable 2025 Ballon d’Or Ranking.