This is what Kimmich & Nagelsmann voted
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This article first appeared on Transfermarkt at 6:43 p.m. and was subsequently updated (new third paragraph).
The world football association FIFA named the world footballer of the year at a gala dinner in Doha. The award goes to Ousmane Dembélé (28) from Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. The former Dortmund player prevailed against his colleagues Kylian Mbappé (26) from Real Madrid and Lamine Yamal (18) from FC Barcelona. For the third time in a row, the World Player of the Year is the Spaniard Aitana Bonmatí (27) from FC Barcelona.
Two FC Bayern Munich professionals were also up for election for the award, which FIFA calls “The Best” across the board: top striker Harry Kane (32) for the world footballer award “The Best” and Manuel Neuer (39) for the goalkeeper honor. Champions League winner Gianluigi Donnarumma (26) prevailed among the keepers. In the women’s category, the award went to England’s national goalkeeper and European champion Hannah Hampton from Chelsea FC.
Update 9:42 p.m.: DFB captain Joshua Kimmich did not have Dembélé in one of the top three places. He voted for Vitinha (also PSG) ahead of his Bayern colleague Kane and Pedri (FC Barcelona). National coach Julian Nagelsmann also awarded the most points to the Portuguese, followed by Dembélé and Kane.
PSG star Dembélé also won the prestigious Ballon d’Or at the end of September, meaning he was able to win the world footballer’s double at the FIFA Awards. However, it is not a given that the award goes to the same player: a year ago, for example, Spanish European champion Rodri (29, Man City) triumphed at the Ballon d’Or, and Real Madrid’s offensive star Vinicius Junior (25) triumphed at FIFA.
Next to Kane: These were the candidates for “The Best” award
Bayern striker Kane competed against the best players alongside Dembélé and his PSG colleagues Achraf Hakimi (27), Vitinha (25) and Nuno Mendes (23). Also nominated were Raphinha (28), Lamine Yamal (18) and Pedri (22) from FC Barcelona, Real striker Kylian Mbappé (26), Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (23) and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (33). In addition to Neuer and Donnarumma (PSG, now Man City), Alisson (33, Liverpool), Thibaut Courtois (33, Real Madrid), Gianluigi Donnarumma (26, Man City), Emiliano Martínez (33, Aston Villa), David Raya (30, Arsenal), Wojciech Szczesny (35, Barcelona) and ex-Bundesliga professional Yann Sommer (36, Inter Milan) were nominated for the goalkeepers.
Premier class champion Luis Enrique (PSG) was named Coach of the Year. The men’s team coaches included the German Hansi Flick (FC Barcelona), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Arne Slot (Liverpool), Enzo Maresca (Chelsea) and the national coaches Roberto Martínez (Portugal) and Javier Aguirre (Mexico).
Santiago Montiel received the Puskás Award for the most spectacular goal. The CA Independiente winger was recognized for his overhead kick against CS Independiente Rivadavia in May 2025. “I didn’t think, I just finished,” said the 25-year-old Argentine (TM market value: 3.5 million euros) after his dream goal.
Different regulations than the Ballon d’Or
FIFA has been honoring world footballers since 1991, and the only German winner in the same year was Lothar Matthäus, who this time presented the team of the year. Between 2010 and 2015, FIFA entered into a cooperation with the Amaury Group, during which time the world footballer prize was awarded as the “FIFA Ballon d’Or”. Since then there have been two prizes for the best footballer.
The regulations for the FIFA election are different than for the Ballon d’Or, which only journalists decide on. FIFA voted for national coaches, national team captains, journalists and fans around the world. Together with 200 media representatives, they make up 50 percent of the votes.
Before the presentation of The Best FIFA Football Awards on Tuesday evening in Qatar, Dr. Andreas Harlass-Neuking was awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award (to the news).
