The Ballon d'Or ceremony has been a venue where football meets art for many years, and this year, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, it was no different.
From football to music, the names of Nigerians have always resounded during French Football awards nights. From Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman‘s nominations to Rema performing ‘Calm down' at the show in 2023.
Tonight, the streak continued. While no male footballers were nominated, Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was placed 4th in the Women's Yacine Trophy, and the team's coach, Justine Madugu, lost the Coach of the Year award to Three Lions gaffer Sarina Wiegman.
Chiamaka Nnadozie arriving at the #BallonDor awards tonight 🌟 pic.twitter.com/AQqEbyV2F2
— Soar Super Eagles (@SSE_NGA) September 22, 2025
Another Afrobeats superstar entered the fray tonight. Adekunle Almoruf Kosoko, popularly known as Adekunle Gold and the crooner of so many hits like High, Something Different, and Party no dey stop, posed in a tuxedo at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
Popularly known as a Manchester United fan, AG baby was seen embracing Liverpool's centre-back, Virgil Van Dijk, before the start of the 2025 Ballon d'Or awards.
Virgil Van Dijk enjoys the rare privilege of meeting Adekunle Gold at the Ballon D’or 🥹 pic.twitter.com/zaB3IFQNxK
— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) September 22, 2025
The 38-year-old was also seen discussing with the daughter of Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, Mario Guardiola.
adekunle gold at the 2025 ballon d’or ceremony in france. 🏆🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/lGHdyzLQ5P
— shaka ⚡️ (@shxkxbabu) September 22, 2025
Adekunle Gold's popularity in the football world is not far-fetched, as several footballers have been seen listening to afrobeats music in the dressing room pre- and post-game, and across several social media posts.
Van Dijk has also publicly shared that he's a fan of Nigerian music. A while back, he was seen cheering the music of Fireboy DML and Burna Boy on X.
In another scenario, he was seen vibing to Asake's organize in Liverpool's AXA training facility. AG Baby isn't new to the football world either.
He's been to several Manchester United games and was recently seen having a nice time with Victor Osimhen and ex-United left-back, Patrice Evra in Turkiye.
