Winning it once is a dream. Winning it again while the entire world expects you to fail? That’s something else entirely. We’ve just seen the 2025 awards wrap up, and honestly, the landscape of global football feels like it’s shifted permanently. Gone are the days when you could just pencil in Messi or Ronaldo and call it a day. Now, we’re in this wild, unpredictable era where a single Champions League run or a summer tournament can catapult a player from "great" to "immortal" in the eyes of the FIFA voters.
It’s kinda crazy when you think about it. The title of fifa player of the world used to be a two-horse race for over a decade. But look at the 2025 results. Ousmane Dembele just took home The Best FIFA Men’s Player award. Yeah, that Dembele. The guy who spearheaded PSG’s first-ever Champions League trophy. It wasn't just about the goals; it was about being the absolute heartbeat of a team that finally climbed the mountain.
Who Actually Is the FIFA Player of the World Right Now?
If you’re looking at the official trophy cabinet for 2025, the names are etched in stone. Ousmane Dembele holds the men’s crown, while Aitana Bonmatí has basically turned the women’s award into her personal property. She just won her third consecutive The Best FIFA Women's Player award. Three in a row. That’s historic.
The voting is always a bit of a mess, though. You’ve got national team coaches, captains, journalists, and fans all throwing their picks into a hat. Each group gets a 25% say. This year, Dembele beat out the likes of Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé. It wasn't a landslide, but his performances between August 2024 and August 2025 were just too loud to ignore. He was the MVP of the Champions League and Ligue 1. When you win a domestic treble and the big ears in Europe, people notice.
But let’s talk about the 2024 winner for a second, because that felt like the true "changing of the guard" moment. Vinícius Júnior took that one home. After Lionel Messi’s somewhat controversial 2023 win—where many felt Erling Haaland got robbed—Vini Jr. restored a bit of "current form" logic to the award by leading Real Madrid to a double.
The Great Awards Confusion: FIFA vs. Ballon d’Or
Seriously, why are there two? It’s the question every casual fan asks every single December and January. You have the Ballon d’Or, run by France Football, and then you have The Best FIFA Football Awards.
💡 You might also like: Why Isn't Mbappe Playing Today: The Real Madrid Crisis Explained
They actually merged for a while (2010–2015), which was great for our collective sanity. Then they split again. Now, the Ballon d’Or is usually handed out in the autumn based on the European season, while FIFA’s "The Best" has been bouncing around the calendar. Lately, they’ve been celebrating the season too, but the voting blocks are different. The Ballon d'Or is purely journalists. FIFA includes the players and coaches you actually see on the pitch.
Sometimes they agree. Sometimes they don't. In 2024, Rodri won the Ballon d'Or in a massive upset that had Real Madrid skipping the ceremony in protest, but Vinícius Júnior still walked away with the FIFA award a few months later. It just goes to show that how a journalist sees the game is very different from how a national team captain sees it.
The Players Who Defined the Era
You can't talk about being the fifa player of the world without acknowledging the statistical anomalies that were Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Between the old "FIFA World Player of the Year" and the modern "The Best" rebranding, Messi has racked up more than anyone else.
But look at the recent list of winners. It’s getting diverse:
- 2025: Ousmane Dembele (PSG)
- 2024: Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)
- 2023: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
- 2022: Lionel Messi (PSG)
- 2021: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
- 2020: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Lewandowski’s back-to-back wins were a huge deal because they proved you didn't have to play for a "marketing giant" like Real Madrid or Barcelona to be recognized—though playing for Bayern certainly helps. Then you have Luka Modric in 2018, the man who finally broke the duopoly after dragging Croatia to a World Cup final.
📖 Related: Tottenham vs FC Barcelona: Why This Matchup Still Matters in 2026
Why the 2025 Results Matter for the Future
The 2025 ceremony in Doha felt different. It wasn't just about the winners; it was about the names in the top ten. Lamine Yamal is only 18 and he’s already finishing on the podium. Think about that. Most of us were struggling with exams at 18, and he’s being voted as one of the three best human beings to ever kick a ball this year.
The "The Best" awards also gave us a glimpse into the tactical evolution of the game. The FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11 for 2025 featured a heavy emphasis on ball-carrying wingers and creative pivots. The game is getting faster, and the award winners reflect that.
What Most Fans Get Wrong About the Vote
There's this common myth that the fifa player of the world is just a popularity contest. "Oh, the captains just vote for their friends."
Well, sort of, but not really.
FIFA actually publishes the full voting breakdown. You can go online and see exactly who Harry Kane or Virgil van Dijk voted for. It adds this layer of accountability. If a captain picks a teammate who clearly had a bad year, the internet is going to let them know about it within seconds. In 2025, the fan vote actually played a massive role in keeping Dembele ahead of Yamal. The PSG faithful and the French national team supporters turned out in droves.
👉 See also: Buddy Hield Sacramento Kings: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
The Women's Game Is Setting the Standard
Honestly, the consistency in the women's category is staggering. Aitana Bonmatí winning in 2023, 2024, and 2025 isn't just because she's popular. It's because she is the engine of a Barcelona team that has essentially "solved" football. They won the quadruple in the 2023/24 season. How do you vote against that?
We also saw the introduction of the "Marta Award" recently, which is the women's equivalent of the Puskás Award for the best goal. Marta herself won the inaugural one for a strike against Jamaica. It's a cool way to honor the legends while keeping the focus on the current elite like Barbra Banda and Caroline Graham Hansen, who pushed Bonmatí to the limit this year.
How to Track the Next Race
If you want to keep up with who might be the next fifa player of the world, you have to look beyond just the goal tally. The voters are suckers for "big game" moments.
- Watch the Champions League Knockouts: This is where 80% of the minds are made up. A hat-trick in a quarter-final is worth more than twenty goals in August.
- Follow the "Big" International Tournaments: With the World Cup 2026 looming, those qualifiers and the preceding Nations League finals are going to carry immense weight.
- Keep an eye on the "The Best" eligibility window: FIFA usually counts performances from late summer to the following summer. Anything that happens in the autumn usually counts for the next year's trophy.
The 2025 awards proved that the "old guard" is officially gone. Messi is in Miami, Ronaldo is in Saudi Arabia, and while they still get some legacy votes, the podium is now owned by the speedsters and the maestros of Europe’s top leagues. It’s an exciting, if slightly chaotic, time to be a fan.
To stay ahead of the curve for the 2026 cycle, start tracking the performance metrics of players like Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal during the spring continental stages. Their ability to influence high-stakes matches will be the primary factor when the national team captains receive their digital ballots next December. Check the official FIFA media hub for the live points tally updates that usually leak a few weeks before the gala.
Practical Next Steps for Fans:
- Check the Voting Logs: Go to the official FIFA website to see the "The Best" 2025 voting PDF. It’s fascinating to see which players actually value tactical skill over name recognition.
- Set Calendar Alerts: The nomination longlists for 2026 usually drop in September. That’s your cue to start debating the favorites.
- Differentiate Your Stats: When arguing for your favorite player, remember that FIFA voters value trophies and "Player of the Match" awards in UEFA competitions more than raw domestic league goals. High-leverage performance is the currency of the fifa player of the world title.