With victory in FIFA’s The Best award, which chooses the best football player of the season, striker Ousmane Dembélé, from PSG (Paris Saint-Germain), became only the second Frenchman to appear on the list of award winners.
Before him, former midfielder Zinedine Zidane won the title three times, in 1998, 2000 and 2003.
The award from the entity that governs world football began in 1991, when the trophy was given to German Lothar Matthäus, World Cup champion in Italy the previous year.
In 2010, FIFA joined forces with France Football, responsible for awarding the Ballon d’Or since 1956, with the emergence of the FIFA Ballon d’Or award, won in its first edition by Messi.
The partnership lasted just six seasons and only had two winners: the Argentine star, four times winner (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015) and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who won in 2013 and 2014.
With the end of the partnership, FIFA decided to recreate its award from 2016 under the name The Best.
With ten editions since then, it has awarded only six players: Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Luka Modrić, Vinicius Junior and Dembélé.
Brazil has already won the award nine times, the first time with Romário, in 1994. Ronaldo is the country’s biggest winner, with three wins (1996, 1997 and 2002), followed by Ronaldinho Gaúcho, with two (2004 and 2005). Rivaldo (1999), Kaká (2007) and Vinicius Junior (2004) won once each.
1991 Lothar Matthäus (ALE)
1992 Marco van Basten (HOL)
1993 Roberto Baggio (ITA)
1994 Romário (BRA)
1995 George Weah (LIB)
1996 Ronaldo (GOOD)
1997 Ronaldo (GOOD)
1998 Zinedine Zidane (FRA)
1999 Rivaldo (BRA)
2000 Zinedine Zidane (FRA)
2001 Luís Figo (POR)
2002 Ronaldo (GOOD)
2003 Zinedine Zidane (FRA)
2004 Ronaldinho Gaúcho (BRA)
2005 Ronaldinho Gaúcho (BRA)
2006 Fabio Cannavaro (ITA)
2007 Kaká (BRA)
2008 Cristiano Ronaldo (POR)
2009 Lionel Messi (ARG)
2010* Lionel Messi (ARG)
2011* Lionel Messi (ARG)
2012* Lionel Messi (ARG)
2013* Cristiano Ronaldo (POR)
2014* Cristiano Ronaldo (POR)
2015* Lionel Messi (ARG)
2016 Cristiano Ronaldo (POR)
2017 Cristiano Ronaldo (POR)
2018 Luka Modrić (CRO)
2019 Lionel Messi (ARG)
2020 Robert Lewandowski (POL)
2021 Robert Lewandowski (POL)
2022 Lionel Messi (ARG)
2023 Lionel Messi (ARG)
2024 Vinicius Junior (BRA)
2025 Ousmane Dembélé (FRA)
*Between 2010 and 2015, the award was awarded in partnership with France Football
