Three Golden Boys in The Best FIFA Men’s 11 of 2025
The football world gathered yesterday to celebrate the annual The Best FIFA Football Awards 2025, and - as many expected - Ousmane Dembélé walked away with the top honour. The French winger has enjoyed a sensational year, and having already claimed the Ballon d’Or 2025 in September, his victory here only strengthened the sense that he has finally reached the heights once predicted for him. It is not uncommon for the two major awards to align, but Dembélé’s rise has still been one of the most compelling stories of the season.
Although Dembélé himself was never a Golden Boy winner, both the runner-up and the third-placed player on this year’s ballot are past winners of the prestigious youth award. Lamine Yamal - who won the Golden Boy in 2024 - finished second with 39 points, 11 behind Dembélé. In third place came Kylian Mbappé, the 2017 Golden Boy, who collected 35 points. The presence of two former winners at the very top of world football once again highlights the award’s ability to identify generational talent long before their prime years.
The rise of the Golden Boys
The Golden Boy award, presented annually to Europe’s best under-21 player, has become an increasingly accurate predictor of future superstardom. Players such as Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, and João Félix all earned the prize before becoming elite professionals. This year’s voting shows another chapter in that trend: while neither Yamal nor Mbappé claimed The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2025 award, their performances over the season firmly established them among the world’s most influential attackers.
The top 11 players
Interestingly, while no Golden Boy winner lifted the main prize this year, three former recipients were selected for The Best FIFA Men’s 11 of 2025. Lamine Yamal was chosen as one of the two forwards, while midfield maestros Jude Bellingham (2023 Golden Boy) and Pedri (2021 Golden Boy) were named in the centre of the park. Their inclusion shows how Golden Boy talent continues to shape elite football, not only individually but also within the tactical frameworks of the world’s top teams.
The team selected by FIFA follows a classic 4-4-2 structure, bringing together some of the brightest stars across Europe. Here are all the players included in the 2025 top team:
| Goalkeeper | Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy (Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City) |
| Defender | Achraf Hakimi, Morocco (Paris Saint-Germain) |
| Defender | Willian Pacho, Ecuador (Willian Pacho) |
| Defender | Virgil van Dijk, Netherlands (Liverpool) |
| Defender | Bruno Mendes, Portugal (Paris Saint-Germain) |
| Midfielder | Jude Bellingham, England (Real Madrid) |
| Midfielder | Pedri, Spain (Barcelona) |
| Midfielder | Vitinha, Portugal (Paris Saint-Germain) |
| Midfielder | Cole Palmer, England (Chelsea) |
| Forward | Lamine Yamal, Spain (Barcelona) |
| Forward | Ousmane Dembélé, France (Paris Saint-Germain) |
A new generation shaping world football
The 2025 awards once again underline how quickly the football landscape is shifting. Veterans like Virgil van Dijk remain central figures, but the growing influence of players under 25 - particularly Yamal, Bellingham, and Pedri - marks the beginning of a new era. With several of these young stars already competing at the highest level, the coming seasons may see even more Golden Boy alumni dominate both club and international competitions.
You can find all the Best FIFA award winners part from the already mentioned one above here.