Sports
Gattuso and Donnarumma had very different FIFA The Best 2025 award votes
UDINE, ITALY – OCTOBER 14: Gennaro Gattuso, Head Coach of Italy, interacts with Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy after the team’s victory in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Israel at Stadio Friuli on October 14, 2025 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso and captain Gianluigi Donnarumma had very different ideas in their votes for FIFA The Best Men’s Player award.
The trophy was won by Paris Saint-Germain and France striker Ousmane Dembele, who was a key figure in the club’s triumphant march last season.
They won the Champions League, Ligue 1, Coupe de France and French Supercup, as well as reaching the Final of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Dembele topped the charts and was also first choice for his former PSG teammate and Italy captain Donnarumma. The goalkeeper had another Paris Saint-Germain player in second place, Achraf Hakimi, with Barcelona’s teenage talent Lamine Yamal in third.
On the other hand, Italy coach Gattuso had a very different vision of the year’s sporting achievements.
His maximum points went to Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé, with PSG and Portugal midfielder Vitinha in second and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah in third.
As for the FIFA Best Goalkeeper award, Donnarumma absolutely dominated the voting, with very few getting a look-in for first place.
The only others who managed a handful of votes were Thibaut Courtois, Emiliano Martinez, David Raya, Manuel Neuer, Alisson Becker and Yann Sommer.
Some had rather odd ideas leaving Donnarumma out of their top three entirely. Bizarrely, Donnarumma himself voted for Wojciech Szczesny, who had come out of retirement to take over at Barcelona.
He had Inter’s Sommer in second and Arsenal’s Raya third.
Donnarumma and Gattuso voted very differently
