Ousmane Dembele was named the men’s player of the year at the Fifa Best awards this evening on the back of a stellar 12 months with Paris Saint-Germain and France.
Following on from his Ballon d’Or triumph in September, Dembele once again scooped the main prize, edging out Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe to come out on top.
The 28-year-old forward played an instrumental role as PSG brought their long wait for the Champions League trophy to an end last term, with Luis Enrique’s side putting five past Inter Milan in May’s one-sided final.
Enrique was also rewarded for his success with PSG at tonight’s glitzy ceremony in Qatar. Having steered the Ligue 1 outfit all the way in Europe, the Spaniard was crowned the coach of the year.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, PSG’s Champions League heroes dominated the the team of the year, with six of Enrique’s players, namely Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Willian Pacho, Vitinha and Dembele, included.
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The star-studded side was completed by Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Barcelona duo Pedri and Yamal.
For a third year on the trot, the women’s player of the year award was claimed by Aitana Bonmati who, like Dembele, won the Ballon d’Or earlier this year.
The 27-year-old midfielder, widely regarded to be among the finest female players in history, won a domestic treble with Barcelona and was a key part of Spain’s squad that finished runners-up to England at Euro 2025.
The manager that denied Bonmati at the Euros, Sarina Wiegman, came away with the best women’s coach of the year gong on the back of her unforgettable summer with the Lionesses.
Wiegman saw off competition from Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor and Arsenal boss Renee Slegers to get her hands on the prize.
Who voted for Ousmane Dembele?
How the voting works
The coaches and captains of all 211 FIFA Member Associations’ women’s national teams will now be invited to select three outstanding candidates for each of the three women’s awards. In addition, the coaches and captains of all 211 FIFA Member Associations’ men’s national teams will be given the opportunity to choose their top three candidates for the trio of men’s awards. Media representatives (various journalists who cover the women’s and men’s games) and fans registered on FIFA.com can also vote on each of the awards.
The four groups of voters have the same electoral weight, irrespective of the actual number of voters in each group (i.e. the votes of the coaches, captains, specialist journalists and fans will each make up 25% of the poll, regardless of the number of voters in each group).
As was the case in previous editions, a dedicated voting application is being used for The Best FIFA Football Awards 2025. Shortlist voting commenced on 6 November 2025 and will conclude at 23:59 CET on 28 November 2025.
The men’s player of the year award, won by Dembele, was based on events running from August 2024 to August 2025.
The prestigious prize is voted for by men’s national team coaches, men’s national team captains, journalists and fans (see above).
All media, captain and manager votes have now been published by FIFA and the list makes for some interesting reading for those of a curious mind.
Thomas Tuchel and Harry Kane's votes
Tuchel: Kane, Palmer, Dembele
Kane: Dembele, Vitinha, Salah
Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane, for instance, selected Dembele, Vitinha and Salah with his three allotted votes.
Three Lions boss Tuchel, meanwhile, voted for three players he is currently or has previously managed in Kane, Palmer and Dembele.
Enrique, Enzo Maresca and Roberto Martinez got the German’s votes when it came to the coach of the year award.
England’s media representative, John Cross of The Mirror, plumped for Dembele, Yamal and Vitinha with his three votes for the men’s player of the year.
Take a look at the full list here.
The Best FIFA Men's Player nominees
Ousmane Dembele, France and Paris Saint-Germain
Achraf Hakimi, Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain
Harry Kane, England and FC Bayern München
Kylian Mbappe, France and Real Madrid
Nuno Mendes, Portugal and Paris Saint-Germain
Cole Palmer, England and Chelsea
Pedri, Spain and Barcelona
Raphinha, Brazil and Barcelona
Mohamed Salah, Egypt and Liverpool
Vitinha, Portugal and Paris Saint-Germain
Lamine Yamal, Spain and Barcelona
Wiegman ‘honoured’ to win award
While Wiegman could not be in attendance to claim her award in person, the Lionesses head coach featured via a video link to thank those who had ‘supported’ her on the journey.
‘Thank you so much, it is an absolute honour to receive this award again,’ she said.
‘I would like to thank FIFA and everyone who voted.
‘I would like to congratulate Seb, Jonatan, Renee and Sonia for your achievements too and thank you to the FA for their continued support for me and the team.
‘This award is for players and staff. We have shown so much conviction, belief and togetherness which led us to our second Euros win.
‘Moving into 2026, let’s keep pushing the women’s game forward together and create an environment for every player to reach their full potential.’
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