Khaberni - The shortlist for the FIFA "The Best" award witnessed the inclusion of the Arab duo, Egyptian Mohamed Salah, star of Liverpool, and Moroccan Achraf Hakimi, a defender at Paris Saint-Germain.
Brazilian Vinicius Junior, forward for Real Madrid, secured the Best Player in the World award for 2024, following his remarkable performance with the Meringues during the 2024-2025 season.
FIFA revealed the shortlist on its official website and opened the voting to fans starting today until November 28th.
Salah succeeded in clinching the English Premier League title with Liverpool in 2025, as well as leading the Egyptian national team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in America, Mexico, and Canada, and advancing with Liverpool to the final of the English Football Association Cup.
On the other hand, 2025 was a year of achievements for Hakimi, who won the UEFA Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain for the first time in the club's history and the second time in Hakimi's career, having previously won the championship in 2018 with Real Madrid.
Hakimi continued his success with the Paris team, winning the league and both the League Cup and the French Cup, and reached the final of the Club World Cup in the United States before losing against Chelsea.
The list also featured French star Ousmane Dembélé, winner of the "Ballon d'Or" who contributed to this year's PSG achievements, along with Portuguese Nuno Mendes, the left-back of the French team, who established himself as one of the best players in the world this year.
The Portuguese Vitinha became the fourth from Paris Saint-Germain on the shortlist for the award, in an exceptional year where the French capital's team secured 4 titles.
The list also included stars from Barcelona and Real Madrid, Lamine Jamal and Kylian Mbappé, where the former won the league title with the Catalan team last season, while Mbappé, the winner of the Golden Boot award, was a standout for Real Madrid in a difficult season without any team trophies.