FIFA has revealed the votes of national team captains and coaches for The Best FIFA Men’s Player award for 2025.
Ousmane Dembele was crowned the winner at a grand ceremony held in Doha, Qatar, last Tuesday evening, capping off a historic year in which he also won the Ballon d’Or for the first time in his career.
Unlike the Ballon d’Or, The Best FIFA Men’s Player award relies primarily on votes from national team coaches and captains, while the Ballon d’Or is based on votes from over 100 journalists from around the world.
Mohamed Salah was among the nominees for the award, and as captain of the Egyptian national team, he also had the right to vote and choose his top three players for 2025.
Interestingly, the “Egyptian King” did not vote for Ousmane Dembele, nor even for his runner-up, Lamine Yamal. The Liverpool star’s top choice went to Moroccan Achraf Hakimi.
Salah completely excluded Yamal from his calculations, placing Dembélé second in his selections, followed by Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé in third place.
It’s worth noting that Lionel Messi, the captain of the Argentine national team, chose Dembélé in first place, while Cristiano Ronaldo did not vote, leaving the decision to Bruno Fernandes for the second year running, based on his belief that individual awards lack a clear standard and do not reflect reality.
