Story byGattuso and Donnarumma had very different FIFA The Best 2025 award votesFootball ItaliaTue, December 16, 2025 at 8:45 PM UTC·2 min readItaly coach Gennaro Gattuso and captain Gianluigi Donnarumma had very different ideas in their votes for FIFA The Best Men’s Player award. The trophy was won by Paris Saint-Germain and France striker Ousmane Dembele, who was a key figure in the club’s triumphant march last season. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThey won the Champions League, Ligue 1, Coupe de France and French Supercup, as well as reaching the Final of the FIFA Club World Cup. Dembele topped the charts and was also first choice for his former PSG teammate and Italy captain Donnarumma. Donnarumma and Gattuso voted very differentlyMILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 16: Gennaro Gattuso, Head Coach of Italy, looks on prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Norway at San Siro Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/)The goalkeeper had another Paris Saint-Germain player in second place, Achraf Hakimi, with Barcelona’s teenage talent Lamine Yamal in third. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the other hand, Italy coach Gattuso had a very different vision of the year’s sporting achievements. His maximum points went to Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé, with PSG and Portugal midfielder Vitinha in second and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah in third. MADRID, SPAIN – JULY 16: Real Madrid new signing, Kylian Mbappe is unveiled at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on July 16, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/)As for the FIFA Best Goalkeeper award, Donnarumma absolutely dominated the voting, with very few getting a look-in for first place. The only others who managed a handful of votes were Thibaut Courtois, Emiliano Martinez, David Raya, Manuel Neuer, Alisson Becker and Yann Sommer. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSome had rather odd ideas leaving Donnarumma out of their top three entirely. Bizarrely, Donnarumma himself voted for Wojciech Szczesny, who had come out of retirement to take over at Barcelona. He had Inter’s Sommer in second and Arsenal’s Raya third.
