FIFA’s best awards may lack the luster of the historic Ballon d’Or, but no one can accuse them of a lack of transparency.
The awards for the best women’s and men’s athletes of 2025 are awarded following a vote by coaches, captains and media representatives from each international federation, and the results published here provide some interesting insights.
advertise
We analyze the best of them.
Dembele wins over the crowd (including Messi)
If there was any doubt that Dembélé won the night’s main award, the voting breakdown shows it was wrong. The Paris Saint-Germain winger topped the voting by national team captains, coaches and media representatives, receiving more first-place votes than all other players combined. In fact, Dembélé was the first choice of 325 voters out of 584.
Dembélé is home to some of the most famous players in football. Former champion Lionel Messi is among them – the Argentinian ranks him first, Kylian Mbappe second and Lamine Yamar third – along with Harry Kane, Granit Xhaka, Youri Tielemans, Ronald Koeman and Mauricio Pochettino.
advertise
The value of a Champions League final victory was evident throughout the tournament. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who currently plays for Manchester City, was named the best goalkeeper, making him sixth in Paris Saint-Germain’s 2024-25 FIFA Best XI last season.
England coach backs his team
There’s nothing stopping allegiances from deciding how everyone should vote, with Thomas Tuchel putting two Englishmen in his three picks. Harry Kane is Tuchel’s first choice, followed by Cole Palmer and Dembélé third.
Tuchel’s choice is curious, but he is not alone. Kane’s name has come up several times in the voting, with managers from Bosnia, Colombia, Poland, Romania and South Africa all considering him the 2024-25 Footballer of the Year after scoring 48 goals for club and country last season.
advertise
Palmer has also earned recognition, perhaps because his heroics in the Club World Cup final victory over Paris Saint-Germain were fresh in the memory throughout the summer. The captains of the Cook Islands, Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago all voted for Palmer to take the lead, as did the coaches of Grenada and Vietnam.
Tuchel’s approach was echoed by Lionesses head coach Salina Wigman, who won Women’s Coach of the Year and backed her trusted defender Lucy Bronze to win Player of the Year. In fact, Wigman is backing three of her own players for major awards, with Alessia Russo and her Euro 2025-winning captain Leah Williamson offering her other options.
Hayes has left Chelsea behind
If you needed a sign that U.S. women’s soccer head coach Emma Hayes is no longer wearing a Chelsea cap full-time, here it is.
advertise
She selected Arsenal duo Mariona Cardenti and Russo, followed by Kansas City’s Temwa Chawinga and the Malawi striker. Chawinga won the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) MVP award again after winning it again in 2024.
In a true sisterhood, the NWSL’s top scorer scored 15 goals in 23 regular season games and also received a first-place vote from the Malawi captain, also known as her sister, who plays for Lyon.
Salah’s popularity continues
At one point last season, before Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League, Mohamed Salah looked set for top individual honours, but he remains favored in smaller circles around the world.
advertise
His Liverpool team-mates Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Dominic Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo all voted for Salah, recognizing his efforts as last season’s PFA Player of the Year before life at Anfield became unstable of late.
Salah has also received the endorsement of Egypt coach Hossam Hassan, as well as managers from Kenya, Libya, Baba New Guinea, Palestine and Trinidad and Tobago.
Some Spanish embarrassments
Things may get a little tense in Spain when it comes to the women’s awards.
They have dominated the player awards for the past five years and have no shortage of outstanding nominees. That gives national team captain Erin Paredes quite a few teammates to choose from. But guess who missed out on the top three? The eventual winner was Aitana Bonmati.
advertise
Paredes chose Guijarro, Alexia Putellas (who won the award in 2021 and 2022) and Caldentey.
Meanwhile, Spain head coach Sonia Bermudez faces the equally tricky task of cutting back on the incredible number of players in her squad. For Bermudez, Caldente defeated Bomati and Putras respectively.
Martinez’s shocking coaching choice
There is only one winner in the Coach of the Year category.
The affable Luis Enrique worked wonders at Paris Saint-Germain last season and has rightly earned the approval of the vast majority of his colleagues. Arne Slott, Hansi Flick and Mikel Arteta also received good votes, but Roberto Martinez’s name was a surprise.
advertise
During a review period in which he lasted just 10 games as Portugal manager, he attracted eight top picks following their penalty shootout victory over Spain in the Nations League final. While this is an outstanding achievement, it may not compare to a Champions League win.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
U.S. Women’s National Team, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, England, Inter Miami, Argentina, Premier League, Champions League, Football, International Football, La Liga, NWSL, Bundesliga, Sports Business, FIFA Club World Cup
2025 Sports Media Companies
