The 18-year-old winger finished second behind Paris Saint-Germain attacker Dembele at the glitzy gala in Paris on Monday in the battle to be crowned the world's best player.

Gianluigi Donnarumma admitted to AFP on Monday he would have preferred to stay at Paris Saint-Germain before a shock switch to Manchester City this month.

The forward became the first Frenchman since Karim Benzema in 2022 to lift the prize after helping PSG claim their maiden Champions League crown last season.

The cream of world football will gather at the Theatre du Chatelet in central Paris on Monday to discover who will be the latest winners of an award dominated for so long by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

For the third year in a row, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the top 30 list for the Ballon d’Or, which was recently announced by the French authorities.

Ousmane Dembele, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Desire Doue, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha are all on the list of 30 players nominated for the big prize.

France coach Didier Deschamps backed Dembele for the award, saying "considering the season Ousmane is having, he deserves it and that's all I wish for him".

Didier Deschamps expects the Paris St Germain players to be ready after their Champions League success when France take on Spain in the Nations League semifinals, with the manager also backing Ousmane Dembele for the Ballon d'Or.

Yamal and Dembele have been crucial for club and country this season and the prestigious golden ball trophy could end up with one of them in September during the ceremony in Paris.

The nominees will be announced in early August.

The Egyptian superstar, 32, is favourite to win the award, regarded as the top individual prize in football, after a sensational campaign so far.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti vehemently defended his sides’ decision to boycott the Ballon d’Or award ceremony last year in protest of Vinicius Jr’s snub and said that Rodri, who edged out Vinicius for the award, should have won the prize a year earlier instead of Lionel Messi.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri took the prestigious prize in October with favourite Vinicius in second place

“Why would it hurt me? It was my moment, to enjoy with my family. The last thing I’d be thinking about is people who weren’t there, and didn’t want to participate,” Rodri said in an interview with COPE radio.

It was revealed that five of the 99 journalists who voted for this year’s Ballon d’Or left eventual winner Rodri out of their top 10 list while three journos did not have Vinicius Junior, who came second after the Spanish midfielder, in the top 10 of their ballot.

Brazil coach Dorival Junior said that it was an injustice that forward Vinicius Junior did not win the Ballon d’Or this year.

"Honestly I don't see it as extraordinary, even if some people do... when I was little I also looked on from the outside, watching from my house seeing Messi lift Ballons d'Or and thinking it was incredible. Once you are on the inside, you take it normally, naturally, although if I stop to think about it, it's something really big."

Rodri becoming the first Manchester City player to win the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world on Monday did come as a surprise to many, and with ample reasons too as he pipped favourite Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid and Brazil to lift the most prestigious individual award in football.

European champions Real announced their decision to skip Monday night's gala ceremony in Paris just hours before it took place after apparently learning that their Brazilian striker Vinicius had not won the men's award.

"What can I say?," said the Spaniard. "First, to congratulate him and all his family and their friends, it's incredible news for him and for all of us."