Cole Palmer Stuns Football World with Meteoric Rise to 2025 Ballon d'Or Contention
Chelsea's influential creative force Cole Palmer has secured an impressive eighth place in the 2025 Ballon d'Or rankings, marking a substantial rise from his previous year's position.
Palmer surpassed notable players including Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Pedri, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior and several others in the final standings.
The England star began the 2024–25 season in exceptional form, most memorably netting four goals in the first half against Brighton & Hove Albion last September. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca earnestly claimed that Palmer "could have netted two or three additional goals," though he would only score from open play three more occasions before the Christmas period.
Chelsea as a team experienced a challenging spell during the holiday season as numerous attacking injuries placed an enormous creative responsibility on Palmer's shoulders. The combination of virtually every opposing team assigning a dedicated marker to shadow the 23-year-old and unfortunate circumstances led to an 18-match scoring drought spanning from January to early May.
Palmer would end his barren run against newly-crowned Premier League winners Liverpool in the campaign's closing stages before genuinely recapturing his peak performance levels as spring transitioned into summer.
It was Palmer's two assists that sparked Chelsea's comeback victory over Real Betis in the Conference League final. Carrying his Player of the Match trophy inside his shorts—explaining he lacked pockets—Palmer expressed the frustration that fueled his breakthrough moment.
"I was simply tired of receiving possession and passing backwards and sideways," he explained after the match. "I decided that the next time I got the ball I would attack and it paid off. It's a wonderful feeling for us and our supporters. We simply raised our intensity and delivered an excellent second-half display."
Palmer would deliver another remarkable showing in the opening period of Chelsea's subsequent final appearance. The consistently composed playmaker found the net twice before assisting João Pedro within a devastating 21-minute spell that shocked Paris Saint-Germain in July's Club World Cup final. The dominant European champions were powerless against the unassuming talent from Wythenshawe.
Following a creditable 25th place finish last year, Palmer's ascent through the rankings has seen him finish ahead of numerous prestigious names. His fellow Englishmen Declan Rice (27th) and Jude Bellingham (23rd) both ranked lower while Liverpool's £116 million ($156.7 million) summer signing Florian Wirtz managed only 29th place.