Sports
FIFA Best award winners and team of the year as Erling Haaland rejected
Need to know
The FIFA awards, widely regarded as one of football’s most prestigious events, took place in Doha, Qatar on December 16, though a lot of Premier League players were snubbed
Everything you need to know about the FIFA awards night…
- About the event: The FIFA Best Awards is an annual ceremony organised by FIFA to honour top individuals from across the game of football. The ceremony, held in Doha, Qatar, this year, handed out major prizes for the best men’s and women’s players, coaches, and other notable achievements during the preceding season.
Awards
- Premier League players in the FIFPRO Men’s World XI: The FIFPRO Men’s World XI included two key players from Premier League clubs: Cole Palmer of Chelsea and Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool. PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, William Pacho and Nuno Mendes joined the Dutchman in defence, while Vitinha and Pedri were included in midfield, and Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembele made up the attack.
- Notable snub: Manchester City’s star striker, Erling Haaland , was among the most prominent names to be snubbed, missing out on both a major award and a spot in the Men’s World XI. This omission was surprising to some, given that the Norwegian scored 34 goals across all competitions for the Premier League side in the 2024/25 campaign, though his teammate Gianluigi Donnarumma made it in.
- English talent and exclusions: Two England players, Palmer and Jude Bellingham , were successfully named in the Best Men’s XI for 2025. However, fellow England striker Harry Kane, who scored 41 goals for Bayern Munich last season, was also passed over for recognition.
- Best women’s coach winner: England’s national team manager, Sarina Wiegman, was crowned the best women’s coach. She won the award after leading the Lionesses, whose players are primarily drawn from the Women’s Super League, to the Euro 2025 title, becoming the first senior England team to retain a major international trophy.
- Best Men’s Player: The Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele was crowned the best men’s player after a highly successful season. Dembele played a pivotal role in helping his team secure an unprecedented quadruple in the 2024/25 season, including the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1.
- Best women’s player: The Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati received the top women’s award for her exceptional performance. Her contributions were crucial to Barcelona’s run to the Women’s Champions League final and Spain’s journey to the European Championship showpiece.
- Best men’s coach: PSG head coach Luis Enrique secured the men’s top coach award for his achievements managing Paris Saint-Germain. His leadership was instrumental in PSG’s historic quadruple win across major domestic and European competitions in the 2024/25 season, helping him beat off competition from Arne Slot and Hansi Flick.
- FIFA Puskas Award (Best Goal): The Puskas Award for the best goal was given to Santiago Montiel of Independiente. Montiel won the accolade for his spectacular overhead kick scored while playing for Independiente against Independiente Rivadavia while Declan Rice’s free-kick against Real Madrid came in second and Lamine Yamal came in third.
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