The reason Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t vote as Portugal captain in The Best FIFA Football Awards 2025
Ousmane Dembélé beat Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal to The Best FIFA Men’s Player prize but Ronaldo was nowhere to be found in the results or voting.
On Tuesday, December 16, The Best FIFA Football Awards 2025 took place, with PSG star Ousmane Dembélé voted ‘The Best’ male player in the world, taking the crown from Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior, who had won the prize for the first time last year.
It marks an impressive double for Dembélé, who also won the Ballon d’Or in September and was the clear winner following votes cast by national team captains, coaches, and a selected media representative from each country.
Ousmane Dembélé 🤝 #TheBest pic.twitter.com/Rlotq3vWaE
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 16, 2025
The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2025 results
FIFA has yet to reveal by how many points Dembélé won, although we do know he saw off Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal as his final two challengers.
Cristiano Ronaldo absent from results and voting
The results for The Best FIFA Men’s Player prize for 2025 show how soccer has moved on from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have won the prize five times between them.
Neither of the duo received a single point in the voting, although Messi was involved as the captain of Argentina. The Inter Miami star gave Dembélé top marks, followed by Mbappé, then Yamal.
One of the most notable absentees, however, was Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite being 40 years old, the Portuguese star continues to score prolifically for Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and Portugal, ending the year with 954 career goals.
Why didn’t Cristiano Ronaldo vote in The Best Awards 2025?
The official list of votes cast by each captain was released, but Ronaldo did not appear as the captain of Portugal. Instead, Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, who voted for Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and Dembélé, made the selections.
Although Ronaldo typically wears the armband when playing for his country, he was not listed as the official captain in the voting records. Instead, Bernardo was responsible for choosing his top three favorites for the award, with Portugal presumably looking to the future as Cristiano’s career comes towards its end.
Bernardo also voted in The Best FIFA Football Awards last year, while former Real Madrid defender Pepe has also cast the Portuguese vote in the past.
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