The Ballon d’Or ceremony could take place without some of Paris Saint-Germain’s biggest names after organisers confirmed that the highly anticipated Le Classique against Marseille has been pushed to Monday night due to severe weather forecasts in southern France.
The switch has created a major scheduling clash for PSG, with the derby now kicking off at the same time as the Ballon d’Or gala at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet. Several of the club’s players were expected to be centre stage at the awards, including Ousmane Dembélé, who is among the frontrunners for the men’s prize after helping PSG lift both the Champions League in May and the UEFA Super Cup in August.
Nine other PSG players are also nominated across different categories, making the French champions the most represented club on this year’s shortlist.
PSG manager Luis Enrique will already be without Dembélé and teenager Désiré Doué for the Marseille clash through injury, meaning the pair could still attend the Paris ceremony if they choose.
The fixture change was confirmed after officials placed the Bouches-du-Rhône region, home to the Vélodrome, under orange alert for heavy rain, flooding and thunderstorms, forcing the postponement of Sunday’s match on safety grounds.
The clash between club duty and football’s biggest awards night comes just a year after Real Madrid stole headlines by boycotting the 2024 Ballon d’Or in protest over Vinícius Júnior missing out to Manchester City’s Rodri. This time, PSG’s absence would be down to circumstance rather than dissent.
