The Best FIFA Football Awards 2025: Full List of Nominees

After FIFA announced the final nominees for the 2025 The Best awards on Thursday, November 6, including the Best Player category, social media users raised questions about the difference between The Best and the Ballon d’Or, while others asked when the winners would be revealed.

This article by Misbar highlights key statistics on The Best awards since their inception, traces their evolution, and profiles the leading contenders for this year’s honors.

The Best Award: History and Evolution

FIFA launched The Best award on October 4, 2016, following the end of its partnership with France Football magazine, which had previously produced the FIFA Ballon d’Or. That joint award combined France Football’s Ballon d’Or with FIFA’s Best Player in the World trophy.

The Best was created to replace the joint award and, according to FIFA, aims to recognize the achievements of players, coaches, goalkeepers, and female footballers alike, while giving fans a greater role in the voting process.

Before The Best, FIFA awarded its first Best Player in the World title in 1991, which went to German midfielder Lothar Matthäus, then a star at Inter Milan. The award continued until 2010, when FIFA partnered with France Football to launch the FIFA Ballon d’Or, which ran until 2015. After the two organizations went their separate ways, FIFA introduced its own version under the name The Best in 2016.

The Best Award: Categories and Voting Process

FIFA’s The Best awards feature several main categories, including Best Male Player and Best Female Player, Best Men’s Coach and Best Women’s Coach, as well as Best Goalkeeper and Best Female Goalkeeper.

The awards also include the Puskás Award for the best goal, the Fair Play Award, and the Fans’ Award. Each year, FIFA announces the Men’s and Women’s Best XI, showcasing the top players of the year.

Winners are chosen through a balanced voting system, equally divided among four groups: 25% from national team coaches, 25% from team captains, 25% from accredited media representatives worldwide, and 25% from the public via an open vote on FIFA.com.

The Best Award: Key Stats and Highlights Since 2016

• Best Player Awards

The Best Male Player award was launched in 2016, with Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo claiming the inaugural title and retaining it in 2017. Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić won in 2018, while Argentine Lionel Messi holds the record for the most wins, taking the award in 2019, 2022, and 2023. Polish striker Robert Lewandowski won in 2020 and 2021, and Brazilian Vinícius Júnior was the most recent winner in 2024.

In the Best Female Player category, American Carli Lloyd won the first edition in 2016, followed by Dutch star Lieke Martens in 2017, Brazilian Marta in 2018, and American Megan Rapinoe in 2019. English forward Lucy Bronze took the award in 2020, Spanish player Alexia Putellas won in 2021 and 2022, and her compatriot Aitana Bonmatí dominated in 2023 and 2024.

• Best Coach Awards

The Best Men’s Coach award began in 2016 with Italian Claudio Ranieri. French legends Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps followed in 2017 and 2018, respectively, before German Jürgen Klopp won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020. German Thomas Tuchel claimed the honor in 2021, Argentine Lionel Scaloni in 2022, Spanish coach Pep Guardiola in 2023, and Italian Carlo Ancelotti in 2024.

In the Best Women’s Coach category, German Silvia Neid won the inaugural award in 2016. Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman took the title in 2017, 2020, and 2022, French coach Reynald Pedros in 2018, American Jill Ellis in 2019, and British coach Emma Hayes in 2021 and 2024.

• Best Goalkeeper Awards

The Best Men’s Goalkeeper award has been claimed by Italian Gianluigi Buffon (2017), Belgian Thibaut Courtois (2018), Brazilian Alisson Becker (2019), German Manuel Neuer (2020), Senegalese Édouard Mendy (2021), Argentine Emiliano Martínez (2022), Brazilian Ederson (2023), and Martínez again in 2024.

The Best Women’s Goalkeeper award was introduced in 2019, with Dutch goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal winning the inaugural title. French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi won in 2020, Chilean Christiane Endler in 2021 and 2022, English Mary Earps in 2023, and American Alyssa Naeher in 2024.

Nominees for the 2025 Best FIFA Football Awards

On November 6, FIFA announced the final shortlist for the 2025 Best Player awards, recognizing performances from August 11, 2024, to August 2, 2025.

The 11-man list includes Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi, Ousmane Dembélé, Vitinha, and Nuno Mendes; Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Pedri, and Raphinha; Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah; Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé; Chelsea’s Cole Palmer; and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane.

The shortlist for the Best Female Player award features Chelsea’s Sandy Baltimore, Natalie Björn, Lucy Bronze, and Lauren James; Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmatí, Patri Guijarro, Eva Navarro, Claudia Pina, and Alexia Putellas; Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey, Alyssa Russo, and Leah Williamson; Lyon’s Kadidiatou Diani, Melchie Dumornay, and Lindsey Horan; Kansas City’s Temwa Chawinga; and Chloe Kelly, who represented both Manchester City and Arsenal.

For the Best Men’s Coach award, the nominees are Mexico’s Javier Aguirre, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Paris Saint-Germain’s Luis Enrique, Barcelona’s Hansi Flick, Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca, Portugal’s Roberto Martínez, and Liverpool’s Arne Slot. The Best Women’s Coach shortlist includes Chelsea’s Sonia Bompastor, Jonathan Giraldes (Washington Spirit and Lyon), Orlando Pride’s Seb Hines, Arsenal’s Renée Slegers, and England national team coach Sarina Wiegman.

The Best Men’s Goalkeeper nominees include Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois, Germany’s Manuel Neuer, Brazil’s Alisson Becker, Italy’s Wojciech Szczęsny, Switzerland’s Yann Sommer, Argentina’s Emiliano Martínez, and Spain’s David Raya.

In the FIFA Fans category, supporters of Zakho SC from Iraq’s Kurdistan Region made the top-three shortlist after throwing stuffed animals onto the pitch during a league match against Al-Hudood to support cancer patients. FIFA praised the initiative as an example of fan solidarity with important social causes. The list also honors the late Spanish fan Manuel Caserres, who supported Spain’s national team for more than four decades, and Alejandro Ciganotto, a devoted Racing Club Avellaneda fan who attended all away matches during the 2024 Copa Sudamericana knockout stage.

The extended FIFA Best XI for 2025 includes three Arab players: Moroccan Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Egyptian Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), and Saudi player Salem Al-Dawsari (Al Hilal, Saudi Pro League).

Voting for The Best awards continues until November 28. FIFA has not yet announced the date or location of the 2025 ceremony. The 2024 awards were held on December 17 in Doha, Qatar.

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