FIFA crowned the year’s top football stars in a glamorous ceremony held in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday night. While trophies were handed out across 12 different categories, the spotlight was firmly on the Best Men’s Player of the Year award. After votes from national team captains, head coaches, journalists, and fans worldwide were tallied, PSG forward Ousmane Dembele emerged as the standout winner for 2025 with a total of 50 points.
The 28-year-old French attacker edged past his international teammate Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal to claim the prestigious honor. Notably, Dembele also received support from voters representing Bangladesh.
Dembele Tops Global Voting Battle
Dembele’s consistency and impact over the year impressed voters across continents. Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuiyan, national team coach Javier Cabrera, and media representative Rezwan Uz Zaman all took part in the voting process.
Bangladesh Jamal placed PSG midfielder Vitinha as his first choice, followed by Dembele and Yamal. Coach Cabrera, however, ranked Dembele at the top of his ballot, with Yamal and Vitinha completing his top three. Journalist Rezwan Uz Zaman also awarded Dembele the highest points, choosing Lamine Yamal and Mohamed Salah as his second and third picks.
“𝑫𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒆’𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆,” 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔.
How Bangladesh and Global Stars Voted
Several high-profile football figures also revealed their preferences. Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi voted Dembele first, followed by Mbappe and Yamal. Brazil captain Marquinhos placed Dembele at the top as well, ahead of Raphinha and Achraf Hakimi.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏,” 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Each voter selected three players, awarding 5 points for first place, 3 for second, and 1 for third. The final winner was decided by the cumulative total of these points, confirming Dembele as football’s finest performer of the year.
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