At the concluded FIFA "The Best" Awards ceremony, Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé was named the Best Men's Player of the Year. On Tuesday night, he received unanimous recognition from his peers.
The award is selected based on votes from fans, media representatives, national team captains, and national team coaches, with the player receiving the most votes winning the award. Each of the four voting groups accounts for 25% of the voting weight. These voters each select the top three players, with 5 points for first place, 3 points for second, and 1 point for third.
FIFA's official website released the detailed voting results of various players and coaches, which included several intriguing details. First, France captain Kylian Mbappé did not participate in the voting, possibly because he was unwilling to choose between two friends, Dembélé and Achraf Hakimi.
The Moroccan right-back did not hesitate to rank Mbappé first, followed by his Paris Saint-Germain teammate and Barcelona winger Raphinha. Dembélé, meanwhile, received votes from the likes of Lionel Messi, Harry Kane, Riyad Mahrez, and Marquinhos.
In the national team coaches' voting, Didier Deschamps decided to rank Dembélé first, placing France captain Mbappé in second. Carlo Ancelotti also participated in the voting for the 2025 FIFA Best Player, ranking Raphinha second and Mbappé third.
However, the Real Madrid forward topped the voting list of Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni, who did not include Dembélé in his list but chose Pedri and Lamine Yamal instead.
Among the many unique votes, Canada captain Alphonso Davies cast his vote for his Bayern Munich teammate Harry Kane. Ghana's representative Jordan Ayew chose Cole Palmer, who won the FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea.
Notably, Vitinha, who finished third in this year's Ballon d'Or, also received votes from several players, including Croatia captain Luka Modrić.
