THE BEST OF 2025: ANALYZING OUSMANE DEMBELE’S PSG TREBLE & BONMATI’S DOMINANCE.
Ousmane Dembele's historic UCL win and Bonmatí's treble dominance earned them The Best FIFA Football Awards. Analysis of the 2025 winners.
Ousmane Dembele won FIFA's The Best award after a great year with Paris Saint-Germain, where they picked up their first Champions League title and a domestic treble. Aitana Bonmati, the Barcelona and Spain midfielder, was also recognised in Doha, Qatar, for an awesome year. Her achievements include a domestic treble with her club and being named Player of the Tournament at Euro 2025.
Dembele Wins Again
Dembele finished the 2024-2025 season strong, adding the Best FIFA Men's Player award to his Ballon d'Or. This solidified his place as one of the best. The French forward was key in Paris Saint-Germain's historic run, securing the Ligue 1 title, the Coupe de France, and their first UEFA Champions League trophy. He also aided his team in achieving the Trophee des Champions and the Super Cup, for a total of five trophies in the 2024-2025 and the beginning of the 2025-2026 seasons.
With 35 goals and 16 assists, Dembele's play helped him edge out Barcelona's Lamine Yamal for the individual awards. Although Yamal, 18, had a super year himself, winning a domestic treble with Barcelona and Euro 2024 with Spain, which earned him the Kopa Trophy for best young player, Dembele's leadership in delivering PSG's first Champions League title made a difference in the voting. His comeback from an injury-prone player to a global star made his win a popular story.
Bonmati Dominates
Bonmati's 2024-2025 season confirmed her as a top player in women’s soccer, winning her third Ballon d’Or Féminin in a row. Despite a tough 1–0 loss to Arsenal in the Women's Champions League final, Bonmatí was named the season's best player for the third time, leading the competition with five assists and four goals.
At home, she led Barcelona to win all the Spanish titles, including the Liga F title, the Copa de la Reina, and the Supercopa de España Femenina. She also led Spain to the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 final, where she was named Player of the Tournament. She finished the year by being named the Best FIFA Women's Player for the third time in a row on December 16, 2025.
How FIFA Awards Work
The Best FIFA Football Awards for men and women are decided by votes from four groups in the soccer world. The votes are split evenly between national team coaches, national team captains, media from each area, and fans on the FIFA website. Each group accounts for 25 per cent of the vote. Voters pick their top three for each category, with five points for first place, three for second, and one for third. Captains and coaches can’t vote for themselves. The player or coach with the most points wins.
Challenges Ahead
Dembele is in contract talks with Paris Saint-Germain, looking for a new deal after winning the Ballon d'Or, while also dealing with injuries. He aims to aid PSG in defending their Champions League title and stay in shape for both club and country as they head into next year’s World Cup. Bonmatí is focused on recovering from leg surgery, which will keep her out for a few months. As she is committed to Barcelona with a long-term contract, she wants to come back strong for the end of the season to help her team win back the Women's Champions League title and keep winning at home.
INSIDE BRADLEY BARCOLA’S DECISION TO LEAVE PSG FOR A STARRING ROLE AT ANFIELD
Bradley Barcola is keen to trade PSG for Liverpool to avoid playing "second fiddle" under Luis Enrique next season in France.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola looks pretty interested in a summer move to Liverpool, and PSG won’t stand in his way if he decides he wants out. Barcola’s not so keen on playing second fiddle to Luis Enrique anymore; he wants a bigger role.
There's been chatter about his future since last summer, and now the Premier League is catching his eye. Liverpool sounds like the most tempting option if you believe the talk coming out of France.
Barcola’s only 23, but he’s already piled up 12 goals and seven assists from 46 games. Still, at PSG, he sits behind big names like Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele. Last time, he stayed put to chase a World Cup spot and another shot at the Champions League. Now, Liverpool seems more appealing; maybe the timing finally feels right for him.
Liverpool’s been weighing up different wide players for the summer. Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig and Barcola are both under consideration, according to The Times.
Arne Slot has made it clear Liverpool’s got big plans for the summer. He wants to turn things around after what’s honestly been a tough season. Slot’s first year didn’t deliver a title, and with two games left, they haven’t locked down a Champions League spot.
“Yeah, I do think I’ll turn things around," Slot said. “Not this season, though. Fans have their opinions, and they won’t change right now. But if we have the summer we’re planning, I’m convinced we’ll be a different team next year: better results, better football. Sometimes you know what needs fixing, but it’s not always easy to get what you want. For us, it’s pretty clear what we’ve been lacking, and we’re working on it.”
Liverpool splashed out last summer, picking up Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Milos Kerkez. But Jamie Carragher thinks they can’t repeat that kind of spending.
“They won’t be able to do what they did last summer; they just don’t have that revenue," he said. "They don’t need six or seven new faces; that’s too much change. Three solid signings would do: a right winger to replace Mo Salah, a right-back, and a central midfielder. Then, the guys they bought last year, Ekitike, Isak, and Wirtz, will start looking like even better players.”
PSG DRAW 2-2 WITH LORIENT; LIGUE 1 TITLE RACE MOVES TO LENS
PSG remain six points clear despite a 2-2 draw with Lorient, as eyes turn to their Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.
Ibrahim Mbaye got PSG off to a flying start with an early goal at Parc des Princes, but Lorient answered quickly through Pablo Pagis. Warren Zaire-Emery put PSG back in front right after coming on as a substitute; his impact was immediate.
Things turned sour for PSG, though. Pierre Mounguengue, making his debut as a teenager, made a costly mistake that let Aiyegun Tosin race clear and score Lorient’s second. PSG kept pushing for a winner but just couldn’t find one.
Still, their lead at the top sits at six points with only three matches to go, since Lens could only draw 1-1 away at Nice.
Lens will host PSG on May 13, but if Luis Enrique’s squad outperforms their nearest rivals next weekend, they’ll wrap up the title early.
PSG’s real focus, though, is on defending their European crown. They play Bayern in Munich on Wednesday, holding a narrow 5-4 advantage from the first leg.
“It’s tough for the players to get motivated after a Champions League semi-final,” said Luis Enrique, who rotated heavily, keeping just Willian Pacho and Desire Doue from the midweek lineup.
Big names like Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia stayed on the bench. Vitinha didn’t even suit up.
Nineteen-year-old Renato Marin started in goal for only the second time, and Mounguengue got his debut up front in the second half.
Here’s how it all played out: PSG took the lead in the sixth minute when Lorient’s keeper, Yvon Mvogo, bungled a clearance off Doue’s cross and the ball bounced in off Mbaye. Pagis replied with Lorient’s first equaliser, but after the break, Zaire-Emery, on for Fabian Ruiz, controlled a pass from Doue with his first touch and fired it in (thanks to a slight deflection).
But it all unravelled with Mounguengue’s poor pass. Tosin seized the chance, slotted home, and PSG dropped points at home for the third time in five league fixtures. Senny Mayulu almost stole it back late on, but his shot hit the post.
Lens let their chance slip too. They went up against Nice thanks to Allan Saint-Maximin, but dropped to ten men when Saud Abdulhamid hacked down Sofiane Diop as he closed in on goal. From the resulting free-kick, Ali Abdi pounced and made it 1-1.
Over in Marseille, the misery continued. They slumped to a 3-0 loss at Nantes, a real blow to their Champions League hopes. Ignatius Ganago, Remy Cabella, and Matthis Abline all scored in nine minutes, giving Nantes their first win in nine matches. Nantes, eight-time champions, are still in the automatic drop zone but now trail Auxerre by just two points with a couple of games left.
Marseille, on the other hand, have lost four of their last six and slipped down to seventh, trailing Monaco, who won 2-1 at Metz. With only two games left, OM are four points off a Champions League place and could even miss out on European football entirely.
Coach Habib Beye summed it up: “We got what we deserved", and insisted he wouldn’t walk away. “You don’t give up on a challenge like this. I’ll never quit.”
Monaco kept their own European push alive, coming back at Metz. American forward Folarin Balogun bagged his ninth goal in ten games to tie it up before Ansu Fati grabbed a winner in injury time. It was a bitter pill for Metz, who have now gone 20 league games without a win, which sealed their relegation.
On a much brighter note, Troyes, part of the City Football Group, is back in Ligue 1 after three years away. They made it official last weekend and sealed the Ligue 2 title with a game to spare on Saturday. Le Mans is in pole position for the second automatic promotion spot.