Mbappe and Yamal headline FIFA’s The Best award finalists, with Messi absent for the first time in 16 years

On Thursday, FIFA revealed the 11 finalists for The Best award, which annually honors the world’s most outstanding soccer player. For the first time in his professional career, Lionel Messi will be missing from the final list, with Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal considered the main favorites.

After his impressive debut season with Real Madrid, combined with his strong performances in the current campaign, Mbappe has a great chance of winning The Best award. This would be his first trophy, considering he came close in 2022 (finishing second) and 2023 (finishing third).

Yamal, meanwhile, has an edge with a stronger 2024–25 season than Mbappe, as Barcelona won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Supercopa de España, in addition to reaching the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. However, his inconsistent start to the current campaign could be a negative factor.

The third major contender for this year’s The Best award is Ousmane Dembele. He recently won the Ballon d’Or just over a month ago, in recognition of his outstanding performances with Paris Saint-Germain. Similar to Yamal, he faces a downside in the form of recurring injuries, which have made his second half of 2025 very limited.

Who are the 2025 The Best award nominees?

While much of the attention for The Best award this year is focused on Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, and Ousmane Dembele, eight other players are also finalists, and any of them could create a surprise at the ceremony.

Paris Saint-Germain, as reigning Champions League winners, have the most players nominated. In addition to Dembele, the French side includes Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, and Vitinha, all key figures for coach Luis Enrique during last season.

Two of Yamal’s teammates at Barcelona also made the final list: Pedri and Raphinha. Of the remaining nominees, two play in England: Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, a standout in the FIFA Club World Cup title run, and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, the Premier League’s best player last season. The final finalist is Harry Kane, who continues to break scoring records week after week with Bayern Munich.

Messi missing The Best for the first time

FIFA began honoring the world’s top players annually in 2009. At the time, the official name of the award was not yet The Best, but World Player of the Year. That year, Lionel Messi won the trophy, tripling the points of his nearest competitor, Cristiano Ronaldo, and began a streak of 15 consecutive years among the finalists.

In 2010, FIFA partnered with France Football to present the FIFA Ballon d’Or, a collaboration that lasted until 2015. During that period, Messi won the award four more times and finished second twice, behind Ronaldo.

The Best was officially established in 2016, with Cristiano Ronaldo surpassing Messi that year. The Argentine forward also finished second the following year and fifth in 2018, before winning again in 2019, his last as a Barcelona player. Robert Lewandowski won in 2020 and 2021, with Messi finishing third and second in those years, respectively.

Successes with the Argentina national team brought Messi back to the top of world soccer, allowing him to win The Best award in 2022 and 2023. In the latter, his triumph also included the Leagues Cup title with Inter Miami. In 2024, Messi had his worst performance, finishing sixth, far behind winner Vinicius Junior. And now, for the first time, FIFA has not even included him among the 2025 finalists.