Ousmane Dembélé is FIFA World Player of the Year for the first time - and received prominent support: national team captain Granit Xhaka and superstar Lionel Messi also voted the Frenchman into first place.
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- Ousmane Dembélé was crowned FIFA World Player of the Year for the first time, beating Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal.
- National coaches, captains, journalists and fans voted - many prominent voices such as Messi, Xhaka and Tuchel voted Dembélé into first place.
- Neither Mbappé, Haaland nor Raphinha made it into the top 11.
Ousmane Dembélé is world footballer for the first time. The Frenchman from Paris Saint-Germain beat his compatriot Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) and the Spaniard Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) in the voting. The 28-year-old succeeds the Brazilian Vinicius Junior.
National coaches, captains, football journalists and fans took part in the vote via the official FIFA website - here you can see who voted for whom.
National team captain Granit Xhaka voted Dembélé into first place (5 points). He ranked Achraf Hakimi second (3) and Lamine Yamal third (1), with Murat Yakin seeing the Barça star at the very top. Dembélé was ranked second by the national team coach, with Kylian Mbappé in third place.
Lionel Messi also put Dembélé in first place, while the Argentinian voted his former team-mate Mbappé in second place and his designated Barça successor Yamal in third.
DFB captain Joshua Kimmich did not have Dembélé in one of the top three places. He voted for Vitinha (also PSG) ahead of his Bayern colleague Harry Kane and Pedri (FC Barcelona). Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann also awarded the most points to the Portuguese, followed by Dembélé and Kane.
Top 11 without Mbappé and Haaland
The England captain himself voted for Dembélé ahead of Vitinha and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool). England coach Thomas Tuchel opted for his captain Kane, Cole Palmer (Chelsea) and the French winner.
Also interesting: Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi opted for his ex-PSG teammate Mbappé at number one and only put Dembélé in second place.
Not making it into the top 11 - the selection is chosen separately from the world footballer title and is based on a vote among thousands of professional players worldwide - alongside Mbappé and Erling Haaland was Barça star Raphinha. The Brazilian had a strong season (38 goals and 24 assists in 64 games). His wife vented her frustration on social media: "Do you think Raphinha is a basketball player???"
