Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí received her third consecutive The Best FIFA Women’s Player award, while France’s Ousmane Dembélé was honored as The Best FIFA Men’s Player at a ceremony held in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.
The Barcelona midfielder was awarded The Best FIFA Women’s Player honor following an exceptional year for both club and country, making her the first female footballer to achieve three consecutive titles.
“I’m very grateful and proud to win my third FIFA The Best award. I’m very grateful to all the people who have voted for me – players, coaches and fans,” she said in a video message. “For me [the best part is that] players who play football like me or coaches I play against voted me for best player of FIFA The Best. It’s the best thing I can say.”
Ousmane Dembélé played a key role in PSG’s successful season, during which the team secured the Coupe de France, their 13th Ligue 1 championship, and achieved a historic first UEFA Champions League title, concluding the season as runners-up at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup™.
LEGO and FIFA give fans chance to build football’s ultimate prize
“First of all, I’d like to thank all my team-mates, it turns out hard work pays off. It has been a fantastic year for me, both individually and as a team,” said the 28-year-old after receiving the award from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the FIFA Celebration 2025 Dinner in Doha, Qatar, ahead of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Qatar 2025™ final, where his Paris Saint-Germain side will take on CR Flamengo.
“I’d also like to thank my family, who have always been there for me; Paris Saint-Germain F.C., with whom, as I said, I’ve had a fantastic year; the President, his staff, and everyone who works at the club; Luís Campos. I’d also like to thank you, Mr President. I’ve always received a little message from you on my birthday, which always makes me happy. I hope to be back here again next year.”
The selection process for The Best FIFA Men’s Coach, The Best FIFA Women’s Coach, The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper, and The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper awards followed a similar methodology to that of the other major individual honors. These awards were decided through an equally weighted voting process involving fans, the current team captains and coaches of all men’s and women’s national teams, and media representatives.
Sarina Wiegman was named The Best FIFA Women’s Coach for 2025 after leading England to a second successive UEFA Women’s EURO title.
“It’s just really, really special,” The Lionesses’ coach said: I feel very honoured, and it says a lot about the teams I’ve been working with – what an incredible journey I had with those teams. And I hope, moving forward, that the journey will continue.”
On the number one emotion the award brought to her, Sarina Wiegman, added: “Honour. That says everything about the team, and without the team, you’re nowhere. That’s the beauty of team sports; that when you have so much talent and you bring everyone together and everyone has their nose in the same direction, you can reach a lot. I think that’s what makes me so happy; that when you can see people, like players and staff, being at their best and win.”
In recognition of his leadership in guiding Paris Saint-Germain to a successful season, Luis Enrique was named The Best FIFA Men’s Coach for 2025.
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper award was presented to Hannah Hampton, who distinguished herself between the posts for Chelsea during their domestic treble-winning season. She also played a pivotal role with the England national team, making crucial saves throughout their path to continental success, which included two penalty shootout victories, notably in the final against Spain.
“Thank you very much to everyone who voted,” Hampton said. “It is greatly appreciated, and it really means a lot. (Thank you) to Sarina (Wiegman) and to Sonia (Bompastor) for the belief in me this year. Both at club and country, we’ve achieved so much, and there’s still so much set out for us to go and get.”
Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who transferred to Manchester City earlier this year, has been awarded The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper 2025 for his outstanding performances with former club Paris Saint-Germain, including a series of critical saves during the club’s successful trophy-winning campaign.
The highest achievements in women’s and men’s football were honored with The FIFA Marta Award, presented for the second time, and The FIFA Puskás Award, respectively. These accolades were determined through a voting process that was equally weighted between fan votes and a panel of FIFA Legends.
Two exceptional goals were recognized, with Lizbeth Ovalle receiving The FIFA Marta Award for her acrobatic effort playing for Tigres in Mexico’s Liga MX Femenil. Additionally, Independiente defender Santiago Montiel was named this year’s FIFA Puskás Award recipient for his overhead kick goal in Argentina’s Primera División.
The recipients of the FIFA Fan Award, which was determined entirely through votes from registered FIFA.com users and saw a record-breaking 2.7 million votes, are the supporters of Zakho SC, a club based in Iraq. Prior to their league match against Al-Hudood SC in May 2025, Zakho fans organized a heartfelt display by throwing thousands of stuffed toys onto the pitch from the stands. The toys were donated to local children in need.
Dr. Andreas Harlass-Neuking was honored with the FIFA Fair Play Award, as selected by an expert panel. He serves as the team doctor for SSV Jahn Regensburg in Germany and rushed into the stands to perform resuscitation, saving a fan’s life before a 2. Bundesliga match against 1. FC Magdeburg.
Fans participated once again in voting for The Best FIFA Men’s 11 and The Best FIFA Women’s 11, selecting from a list of 77 nominees for each team. Their votes were weighted equally with those of an expert panel.
Aitana Bonmatí is among six Barcelona players featured in The Best FIFA Women’s 11 2025, while Ousmane Dembélé appears in The Best FIFA Men’s 11 2025 alongside four of his Paris Saint-Germain teammates.
Photos/BallonD’Or/X
