Dembele wins 2025 FIFA ‘The Best’ Men’s Player Award

Paris St-Germain and France forward, Ousmane Dembele, has been named the men’s player of the year at the FIFA Best awards.

The 28-year-old, who won the Ballon d’Or in September, picked up the FIFA award in Qatar on Tuesday after helping PSG to four trophies in the 2024-25 season.

The former Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund player, who joined PSG in 2023, had 51 goal contributions in 53 games for Luis Enrique’s side last term.

After helping PSG to a first Champions League triumph, Dembele beat Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe to the prestigious individual award.

Dembele was present at the awards ceremony before his side’s Intercontinental Cup final against Flamengo on Wednesday.

The award, which is based on events from August 2024 to August 2025, is voted for by men’s national team coaches, men’s national team captains, journalists and fans.

The Frenchman’s success underlines his status as one of the best players in the world.

Dembele initially struggled for form during the first half of the 2024-25 campaign but saw his season spark into life after being redeployed as a central forward.

Eight of his 35 goals came in the Champions League last season, including crucial strikes against Liverpool and Arsenal in the knockout stages.

Dembele joins an illustrious list of names, including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, to have won the award since its inception in 2016.

In total, he has scored three goals and provided three assists for PSG across all competitions this term.

On the international stage, meanwhile, Dembele helped France qualify for next summer’s World Cup, where the two-time winners will face Senegal, Norway, and one of the play-off winners in the group stage.

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