Ousmane Dembélé became the first Frenchman to win Best FIFA Men’s Player since the global award was created in 2016, with a helping hand from the United States men’s national team.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward finished top of the standings with 50 points, ahead of Lamine Yamal’s 39 and Kylian Mbappé’s 35, after all the votes from national team coaches, captains, media representatives, as well as the fan poll, had been counted.
Every year, FIFA releases the detailed breakdown of who voted for whom, meaning that we know which direction USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino and captain Tim Ream went in—they each had to name a top three that helped influence who won took home the prize. The U.S. media votes for the men’s award were cast by FOX Sports soccer reporter Doug McIntyre.
Pochettino and Ream both gave Dembélé their first place vote. There may have been some PSG solidarity from Pochettino due to his attachment to the club as a player (2001–03) and manager (2021–22), although Dembélé’s achievements last season stack up on their own anyway. His 51 goals and assists were pivotal to PSG winning a treble completed by Champions League glory.
The former opted for Harry Kane, whose rise he oversaw at Tottenham Hotspur a decade ago, while the latter chose PSG left back Nuno Mendes. On the surface it was a slightly strange choice, but 62 others also included Mendes somewhere in their top three.
McIntrye’s top pick was Yamal, chosen by neither Pochettino, nor Ream. The reporter still opted for Dembélé, but only afforded the current Ballon d’Or holder second place. His third vote went to Barcelona attacker Raphinha, who was voted for 104 times in total but didn’t feature in the separately decided Best FIFA Men’s 11, much to the disdain of his wife. “Injustice!” she cried on social media.
USMNT Best FIFA Men’s Player Voting
| Rank | Tim Ream (captain) | Mauricio Pochettino (manager) | Doug McIntrye (media) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ousmane Dembélé | Ousmane Dembélé | Lamine Yamal |
| 2nd | Kylian Mbappé | Kylian Mbappé | Ousmane Dembélé |
| 3rd | Nuno Mendes | Harry Kane | Raphinha |
The U.S. trio also got votes in the best coach and goalkeeper categories as well, unanimously agreeing on Luis Enrique and Gianluigi Donnarumma respectively.
USMNT Best FIFA Men’s Coach Voting
| Rank | Tim Ream (captain) | Mauricio Pochettino (manager) | Doug McIntrye (media) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Luis Enrique | Luis Enrique | Luis Enrique |
| 2nd | Hansi Flick | Enzo Maresca | Arne Slot |
| 3rd | Arne Slot | Arne Slot | Enzo Maresca |
USMNT Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper Voting
| Rank | Tim Ream (captain) | Mauricio Pochettino (manager) | Doug McIntrye (media) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Gianluigi Donnarumma |
| 2nd | Thibaut Courtois | Thibaut Courtois | Wojciech Szczęsny |
| 3rd | Emiliano Martínez | Emiliano Martínez | Alisson Becker |
How the U.S. Voted for Best FIFA Women’s Player
Barcelona and Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí three-peated the award after previous wins in 2023 and 2024, but didn’t get any support from USWNT manager Emma Hayes, or captain Lindsey Heaps.
In first place, Hayes and Heaps both picked Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey, who finished second in the final standings. Hayes chose Alessia Russo second and Kansas City Current’s Temwa Chawinga third, while Heaps put OL Lyonnes teammate Melchie Dumornay second and Russo third.
The media representative, ESPN writer Jeff Kassouf, did choose Bonmatí first, and gave his second and third votes to Chawinga and Caldentey respectively.
USWNT Best FIFA Women’s Player Voting
| Rank | Lindsey Heaps (captain) | Emma Hayes (manager) | Jeff Kassouf (media) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Mariona Caldentey | Mariona Caldentey | Aitana Bonmatí |
| 2nd | Melchie Dumornay | Alessia Russo | Temwa Chawinga |
| 3rd | Alessia Russo | Temwa Chawinga | Mariona Caldentey |
In the coach stakes, all three ranked England manager Sarina Wiegman top of their list, as she claimed an astonishing fifth FIFA crown off the back of Euro 2025 last summer. For the goalkeeper award, where only first and second place was needed, Heaps and Hayes opted for Hannah Hampton top, but Kassouf chose Gotham FC stopper Ann-Katrin Berger instead.
USWNT Best FIFA Women’s Coach Voting
| Rank | Lindsey Heaps (captain) | Emma Hayes (manager) | Jeff Kassouf (media) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Sarina Wiegman | Sarina Wiegman | Sarina Wiegman |
| 2nd | Jonatan Giráldez | Renée Slegers | Renée Slegers |
| 3rd | Renée Slegers | Seb Hines | Seb Hines |
USWNT Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper Voting
| Rank | Lindsey Heaps (captain) | Emma Hayes (manager) | Jeff Kassouf (media) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Hannah Hampton | Hannah Hampton | Ann-Katrin Berger |
| 2nd | Christiane Endler | Cata Coll | Hannah Hampton |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Who USMNT’s Mauricio Pochettino, Tim Ream Voted for at The Best FIFA Football Awards.
