With 2025 drawing to a close, it's time to reflect on what has been a very fun year of football. Despite the regular controversy of VAR, constant meddling at FIFA from Gianni Infantino, and inflammatory punditry takes from Jamie Carragher, the beautiful game has still delivered many delightful moments.
Paris Saint-Germain are perhaps the biggest winners of the year, lifting their first-ever Champions League, which helped secure a total of six trophies in the space of 12 months. That said, while football is a team game, there is always time and space to recognise the performances of individuals.
That's why so many hold the Ballon d'Or in such high esteem. But that award now spans performances across a season, instead of just a single year from start to finish. With that in mind, GIVEMESPORT have created a ranking list of the 20 best players based on their displays in 2025 alone.
Ranking Factors
Performances in the first half of 2025 (end of 2024/25 season) vs the second half of 2025 (start of 2025/26 season)
Trophies won in 2025
How important they were to their team's success in 2025
How many memorable moments they delivered in 2025
Overall quality shown as a footballer in 2025
Exceeding expectations or meeting high ones
Best Football Players in 2025
Rank
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10 Harry Kane - Bayern Munich and England
Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates scoring against Chelsea.
UEFA Champions League - Bayern Munich v Chelsea - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - September 17, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth
There can be no doubting the very special 12 months Harry Kane has had. In 2024/25, he finished the season with 41 goals in 51 games, while grabbing 14 assists, firing Bayern Munich to his first-ever major trophy (Bundesliga). He could also count himself somewhat unlucky to finish as low as 13th in the final Ballon d'Or rankings.
In the first half of the 2025/26 season, he has already smashed in an astonishing 30 goals in just 25 matches. On top of that, across 2025, he'd extended his lead as England's record goalscorer to 78, netting nine goals in nine games as the Three Lions qualified for the 2026 World Cup. A special player in the prime of his career.
9 Achraf Hakimi - PSG and Morocco
Achraf Hakimi
Having long established himself as one of the great attacking fullbacks of world football, Achraf Hakimi delivered probably the best season of his career in 2024/25. He bagged 11 goals and 16 assists for PSG, helping them finally get their hands on that elusive Champions League.
When all is said and done, he'll finish the calendar year having added a total of six trophies to his cabinet – Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Trophee des Champions, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup – while also having made the FIFA The Best Men's XI. He also wore the captain's armband as Morocco qualified for the World Cup and at AFCON 2025.
8 Erling Haaland - Manchester City and Norway
erling haaland-1
Going off his goalscoring form in 2025/26 alone, Erling Haaland deserves to be much higher on this list. After all, he's scored 25 goals in 23 games this term – with 19 coming in 17 coming Premier League outings.
It's not as if he struggled to find the net this term either, with 34 strikes in total, but Manchester City didn't have the best of seasons and actually walked away with zero trophies. That underperformance in the first half of 2025 stops him from ranking any higher, but Haaland has still comfortably been among the best in the world over the past 12 months.
7 Scott McTominay - Napoli and Scotland
scott mctominay
It might be a little odd to see Scott McTominay ranked higher than someone like Haaland, but in terms of achievement in 2025, contrasted with expectations on the player going into the year, the Scotland international absolutely deserves to claim seventh place on this list.
He finished 2024/25 having led Napoli to Serie A glory in a manner reminiscent of the great success Diego Maradona had in the late 1980s. This was enough to see him earn Serie A Footballer of the Year. In the second half of the year, he hasn't slowed down either, most notably scoring a stunning bicycle kick in Scotland's win over Denmark as they qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
6 Raphinha - Barcelona and Brazil
raphinha
A hamstring injury has limited Raphinha in 2025/26 so far, meaning he's played just 11 times in La Liga. Even in that period, though, he scored seven times and picked up three assists, highlighting just how consistent he has become at Barcelona. This late 2025 form has been a continuation of what he achieved last term.
The Brazilian was arguably his team's best player as Barca won La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Supercopa de Espana, with a mammoth 60 goal contributions (34 goals, 26 assists). Lacking the same PR as some of the superstars on this list, he deserves to be recognised as one of the most impressive footballers over the last 12 months.
5 Mohamed Salah - Liverpool and Egypt
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah has certainly made plenty of headlines in 2025. For the first half, they were all positive with the Egyptian firing Liverpool to an unexpected Premier League title in Arne Slot's first season, bagging.
His form has not been on the same level in 2025/26, although he still has five goals and four assists under his belt. Despite the obvious drop-off, it would be a misstep to undervalue the sheer footballing talent Salah has displayed in the last 12 months. The main worry will be if it was perhaps his last hurrah at the elite level.
4 Kylian Mbappe - Real Madrid and France
kylian mbappe
Kylian Mbappe walked away with just the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup after his debut season with Real Madrid, and missing out on the major trophies prevented him from having any real shot at winning the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
In fairness, it took him a little time to settle in Spain (in the latter stages of 2024), but after finding his groove, he went on to deliver 44 goals for Los Blancos. He's since been in blistering form, with 29 goals in just 24 appearances across 2025/26. With it soon to be a World Cup year, we can expect the Frenchman to be even more impressive over the coming 12 months. For now, he sits just outside the top three.
3 Vitinha - PSG and France
vitinha psg
At the start of the year, very few would have even expected Vitinha to rank among the top 10 players in the world, let alone the top three. However, the midfielder – who famously struggled to impress at Wolves – has had a staggeringly good 12 months.
Not only did he win all of those six aforementioned trophies with PSG, but he also got his hands on the Nations League with Portugal. More than just the medals, though, Vitinha has excelled in so many high-profile games across 2025, giving PSG a level of control they never had before. After bagging a Champions League hat-trick against Tottenham, manager Luis Enrique said:
"If you have to judge Vitinha's level, you have to look at last season, you have to look at his first season, how he changed the way we attack, how he improved the way we manage games. It's very good for me, as a coach, to have a player of this ability. He loves playing football; he wants to train every day. These are the kinds of players you have to keep in check."
2 Lamine Yamal - Barcelona and Spain
lamine yamal
Lamine Yamal was only 17 when 2025 began, but he'd already long-proved himself to be one of the most exciting talents we've seen in the game in a long time. He furthered his reputation over the last 12 months, winning three trophies at Barcelona.
Most notably, he shone in La Liga, with nine goals and 11 assists, while also regularly lighting up the Champions League, despite his team's semi-final exit. 20 goal contributions already in 2025/26 (nine goals, 11 assists), the only way is up for the Spaniard who has reserved his spot at football's top table for many years to come.
1 Ousmane Dembele - PSG and France
Paris St Germain's Ousmane Dembele celebrates after winning the men's Ballon d'Or award
Finally, we have Ousmane Dembele. Let's not forget that before 2025, many viewed the Frenchman as a bit of a squandered talent. A wonderful player on his day, yes, but too many inconsistencies had prevented him from reaching his true level. At last, though, he showed the world what he could do, and the results were spectacular.
He was undoubtedly the main man as PSG were able to lift their first Champions League – with the Frenchman scoring eight goals and claiming six assists in 15 games across the tournament. Injuries have hampered him in the current season, but that doesn't change the fact that Dembele was the best player on the planet in 2025.