Dembele Scoops Best FIFA Men's Player Award In Doha

Doha, Qatar: Paris Saint-Germain and France superstar Ousmane Dembele won the Best FIFA Men's Player 2025 at a special event at Fairmont Katara Hall in Doha yesterday.

The dynamic attacker has been rewarded following an incredible season for PSG. He was a talismanic figure during the club's run to a maiden UEFA Champions League title, scoring eight times and providing six assists during their triumphant European campaign.

Dembele – who was named as the 2024/25 season's MVP in both the continental competition and Ligue 1 – was integral as PSG won a domestic treble.

The 28-year-old also helped the team reach the final of the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup. He won the Ballon d'Or in September

The winner of The Best FIFA Men's Player Award was determined from a shortlist selected by experts based on performances and achievements between 11 August 2024 and 2 August 2025.

Votes were cast by men's national team coaches, team captains, football journalists, and fans on FIFA's official website, with each voter ranking their first, second, and third choices.

Points were awarded accordingly (five for first, three for second, one for third), and nominated captains could not vote for themselves.

Each voting group contributed 25% of the total score, regardless of the number of voters. The player with the highest total points won the award, with ties broken by the number of first-choice votes from their own voter group.

PSG coach Luis Enrique was named Best Coach of a Men's Team, beating Barcelona's Hansi Flick and Liverpool's Premier League-winning manager Arne Slot.

At 27, Alexia Bonmati was crowned Women's Player of the Year for the third consecutive time, following her third straight Ballon d'Or in the autumn.

The personal accolade caps a year of highs and lows for Bonmati, who won the Spanish league but lost both the Champions League and European Championship finals last season.

She was named Player of the Tournament at the Euros despite not starting Spain's first two matches while recovering from viral meningitis. Bonmati is currently sidelined after fracturing her leg in training on the eve of Spain's victorious Nations League final second-leg win over Germany.

England manager Sarina Wiegman won the women's coaching award after guiding her team to a third consecutive Euros title in the summer.

In the goalkeeping categories, Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma, who joined Manchester City after winning the Champions League with PSG, took the men's award, while Chelsea's Euro 2025 winner Hannah Hampton won the women's trophy.

The Puskas Award for the best goal of the year went to Santiago Montiel for his overhead kick from outside the penalty area for Independiente against Independiente Rivadavia in Argentina's top flight.

The Marta Award went to Lizbeth Ovalle for her scorpion kick for Tigres against Guadalajara in the Mexican league. With inputs from AFP

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