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Ousmane Dembele, Harry Kane, and Lamine Yamal are all prominently featured among the 11 nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2025.
The nomination sets up another potential battle between Dembele and Yamal, who recently went head-to-head for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, an award Dembele ultimately won. And there’s a showdown between England Lionesses hero Alessia Russo and Aitana Bonmatí for the women’s gong.
Massive awards for football’s elite
Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas are among the women’s nominees for FIFA’s “The Best” Awards.(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
The Best FIFA Football Awards are presented annually to honor the sport’s most outstanding performers, including players and coaches. Relaunched in 2017, the winners are determined by a combined vote from four equally weighted groups. These groups include national team captains and coaches, selected media representatives, and the general public. The awards are seen as a modern way to celebrate excellence within the sport, covering a specific performance period rather than a calendar year. Recent notable winners include Bonmatí, who won Best Women’s Player in both 2023 and 2024, and Vinicius Junior and Lionel Messi, who were named Best Men’s Player in 2024 and 2023 respectively. These accolades reflect the highest achievements within the world of football.
Race for the men’s title
Yamal, the brilliant teenage sensation, won the Kopa Trophy in 2024 and 2025 and finished second in the 2025 Ballon d’Or. He was instrumental in Barcelona’s domestic Treble and won Euro 2024 with Spain, showcasing incredible skill. Dembele had a career-defining season, winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or and the Champions League with Paris St-Germain as part of another stunning Treble. He was also named the Champions League Player of the Season. And Kane finally ended his long wait for a major trophy by winning the 2024/25 Bundesliga with Bayern Munich. His brilliant goalscoring form saw him finish as the league’s top scorer for the second consecutive season – and he’s already bagged 22 in all competitions for club and country this season. The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, and Cole Palmer will also hope to have some sort of say in the destiny of the prize.
The full list of nominees: Dembele (Paris St-Germain), Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain), Kane (Bayern Munich), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Nuno Mendes (Paris St-Germain), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Pedri (Barcelona), Raphinha (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Vitinha (Paris St-Germain), Yamal (Barcelona).
Race for the women’s title
And there’s a huge battle in store to land the women’s crown. Russo had a brilliant 2024-2025 season, winning the WSL Golden Boot with 12 goals for Arsenal. She also helped the Gunners to a historic Champions League victory with eight goals in the competition and was named the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year. For Barcelona, Bonmati enjoyed another exceptional year, winning her third successive Ballon d’Or. She was also instrumental in Barcelona’s domestic treble and earned the UEFA Women’s Champions League Player of the Season award for the third time running.
The full list of nominees: Sandy Baltimore (Paris St-Germain), Nathalie Bjorn (Chelsea), Bonmati (Barcelona), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal), Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current), Kadidiatou Diani (Olympique Lyonnais), Melchie Dumornay (Olympique Lyonnais), Patri Guijarro (Barcelona), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Arsenal), Ewa Pajor (Barcelona), Claudia Pina (Barcelona), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Russo (Arsenal) Leah Williamson (Arsenal).
Wait for awards to be announced
The exact date and location for the next ceremony have not yet been announced by FIFA. The ceremony typically takes place early in the new year, often in January, to honor performances from the previous full calendar year. The 2024 awards were held in Doha, Qatar, in December 2024, and the 2023 awards were in London in January 2024. An announcement regarding the host city and specific date is expected in the coming months. The Best awards are often seen as a potential bellweather ahead of the Ballon d’Or too, so the player who ends up lifting the trophy may well also have designs on the most prestigious individual award a footballer can receive.
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