Ousmane Dembele, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal have all been named among the 11 nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2025 award.
The trio headline a star-studded list that also includes Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah and Cole Palmer, setting up another potential showdown between Dembele and Yamal fresh off their Ballon d’Or battle earlier this year.
Dembele enjoyed a career-defining season with Paris Saint-Germain, winning the Champions League, Ballon d’Or and being crowned UEFA Champions League Player of the Season.
Teenage prodigy Yamal, meanwhile, inspired Barcelona to a domestic Treble and lifted Euro 2024 with Spain, adding to consecutive Kopa Trophy wins in 2024 and 2025.
Kane finally ended his long wait for a major trophy by guiding Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title, finishing as the league’s top scorer for a second straight season and already notching 22 goals across all competitions this term.
The full men’s nominees list includes: 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) and Yamal (Barcelona).
There’s also fierce competition for the women’s honour, with Alessia Russo and Aitana Bonmati leading the way.
Russo enjoyed a brilliant campaign, winning the WSL Golden Boot with 12 goals for Arsenal and helping them claim a historic Champions League triumph.
Bonmati, meanwhile, continued her dominance with Barcelona securing a third straight Ballon d’Or, a domestic Treble, and another UEFA Women’s Champions League Player of the Season award.
FIFA has yet to confirm the date or location for the 2025 ceremony, which typically takes place early in the new year.
The 2024 edition was staged in Doha, Qatar, while the 2023 event was held in London. An announcement on the next host city is expected in the coming months.
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