France’s Ousmane Dembelé crowned Paris Saint-Germain’s great 2025 by winning FIFA’ s The Best Player of the Year award, while Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí added to her legend as the queen of women’s soccer with her third consecutive accolade.
Dembelé and Bonmatí were honored at a gala dinner held by world soccer’s governing body at the Fairmont Katara Hal in Doha on the eve of Wednesday’s Intercontinental Cup final between Paris and Flamengo at the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium in the Qatari capital.
Dembélé leads a gala marked by PSG’s dominance
The Best, co-hosted by former Italian player Alessandro del Piero, honored the best players of the year in the various categories.
As assured by FIFA President Gianni Infantino of Switzerland.
Protagonists almost identical to those awarded at the last Ballon d’Or gala organized by the French publication ‘France Football’.
Dembelé, who was recognized in September with such an award in Paris, again preceded his compatriot Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid striker, in the FIFA award rankings.
As well as Spain’s Lamine Yamal, Barcelona winger.
The 28-year-old Frenchman shone brightly and played a key role in Paris Saint-Germain’s great season last season.
This was by making a decisive contribution to winning all domestic tournaments, as well as the Champions League and the European Super Cup.
The only thing missing was the Club World Cup, in which the French side lost in the final to Chelsea.
On Wednesday, however, they can win the Intercontinental Cup for the sixth time if they beat Brazil’s Flamengo.
Aitana Bonmatí consolidates her reign in women’s soccer
Aitana Bonmatí, who has also won the Ballon d’Or in the last three editions, confirmed her status as the queen of women’s soccer today.
Between the two awards he has accumulated six, the last three of the Gallic awards and The Best, in which, if you add the two achieved by Alexia Putellas in 2021 and 2022 Spain accumulates five in a row.
The Catalan midfielder played a decisive role in Barcelona’s success in Spanish soccer.
This was after winning all possible titles and reaching the final of the Champions League, in which they lost to Mariona Caldentey’s Arsenal in Lisbon.
Alexia Putellas and Mariona Caldentey were the other two finalists and entered along with Aitana Bonmatí in the ideal eleven of the year of women’s soccer, also composed of:
Hannah Hampton (ENG), Lucy Bronze (ENG), Leah Williamson (ENG), Irene Paredes (ESP), Ona Battle (ESP), Patri Guijarro (ESP), Claudia Pina (ESP) and Alessia Russo (ING).
Aitana also played a key role in the successes of the Spanish national team, ranked number one in the world.
Reached the final of the European Championship in Switzerland, lost in a penalty shootout to England.
And she retained the Nations League title against Germany, whose second leg at the Metropolitano could not play when she suffered a fractured fibula in the left ankle during training with the team coached by Sonia Bermudez.
Luis Enrique and Donnarumma extend PSG’s dominance
“I am grateful to have the award, I was voted for by the players, coaches and fans and I will enjoy it.”
Bonmatí said in a message recorded in Barcelona in which she appeared with a crutch that she must wear after undergoing surgery.
PSG’s dominance was reflected in the awards for best coach and best goalkeeper.
They went to Spain’s Luis Enrique Martínez and Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, who also won the Ballon d’Or, respectively.
Luis Enrique, former Roma, Celta and Barcelona coach, wins The Best for a spectacular season, the best in the history of PSG.
He managed to win all the domestic titles, the Champions League and the European Super Cup.
The Spanish coach, who has put together a signature squad following the gradual departure from the Parisian club of big names such as Neymar, Leo Messi and Kylian Mbappé, is aiming to become only the third in history, after Pep Guardiola in 2009 and Hasi Flick in 2020, to win six titles.
Synonymous with having signed a team that can mark an era.
They only missed the Club World Cup in the United States, in the final of which they lost to Chelsea.
Luis Enrique takes over The Best from Italian Carlo Ancelotti, former Real Madrid and current Brazil coach, and among the Spanish coaches, Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), winner of the award in 2023.
Individual awards close a historic night
The current Manchester City goalkeeper added this recognition to the Yashin Trophy as the fruit of a great season.
The 26-year-old from Castellammare di Stabia, who finished second in 2021, replaces last year’s winner Emiliano Martinez from Argentina.
He is the first Italian to receive it since Gianluigi Buffon in 2017.
Donnarumma is the goalkeeper of the ideal eleven of the year, which is also dominated by his former team:
Achraf Hakimi (MAR/PSG), William Pacho (ECU/PSG), Virgil van Dijk (NED/Liverpool), Nuno Mendes (POR/PSG), Cole Palmer (ING/Chelsea), Jude Bellingham (ING/Real Madrid), Vitinha (POR/PSG), Pedri González (ESP/Barcelona), Lamine Yamal (ESP/Barcelona) and Ousmane Dembele (FRA/PSG).
Two acrobatic actions, spectacular as a ‘scorpion’ and a bicycle kick from outside the area, were the ones that won the awards for the best goals of the year, which bear the names of two legends such as the Brazilian Marta and the Spanish-Hungarian Ferenc Puskas,
Ovalle and Montiel shine with the most spectacular goals of the year
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Mexico’s Lizbeth Ovalle, thanks to her spectacular ‘scorpion’ goal for Tigres against Guadalajara in the Mexican women’s league on March 3, received the Marta award, who was also a finalist in this edition along with Mariona Caldentey.
Meanwhile, Argentine Santiago Montiel, cousin of Gonzalo Montiel, the former Sevilla full-back who scored Argentina’s decisive penalty against France in the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, thanks to his spectacular bicycle kick for Independiente against Independiente Rivadavia in a league match, was awarded the Puskas.
Sarina Weigmann of the Netherlands, England’s European Championship-winning coach, the fans of Iraq’s Zakho SC and doctor Andreas Harlass-Neuking of Germany’s SSV Jahn Regensburg rounded out the honors with The Best awards for best women’s soccer coach, fans and fair play, respectively.
With information from EFE
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