Discussing the best XI in world football is always an exercise as exciting as it is controversial. In fact, the debate in 2025 doesn’t revolve solely around pure talent, but rather a complex combination of sustained performance, collective impact, tactical maturity, and individual ability to decide high-stakes matches.
Currently, football rewards complete, adaptable, and decisive players in their positions within increasingly sophisticated and advanced systems.
Consequently, the ideal team of the year will be announced globally, taking into account the player’s relevance to his squad, consistency, individual development, and impact on important stages.
The competition proved so fierce that prominent figures with remarkable performances were left out of the selections, such as Thibaut Courtois at Real Madrid, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães, both from Arsenal , as well as Cucurella and Cole Palmer from Chelsea , and a killer of the caliber of Erling Braut Haaland, top scorer in the Premier League with Manchester City .
1.Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy – PSG/Manchester City): goalkeeper
Gigio reached the perfect balance between youth and experience in 2025. After years of ups and downs, the Italian goalkeeper has established himself as one of the most decisive in the world, both for his reflexes and his leadership.
In addition to being vital to Paris Saint-Germain’s Treble, including the coveted Champions League title, his improved footwork helped convince Pep Guardiola himself to endorse his signing for City at the end of the summer.
2.Achraf Hakimi (Morocco – PSG): right back
No right-back or wing-back has had as much of an impact as the newly crowned African Ballon d’Or winner.
His ability to gallop across the flanks and inside for 90 minutes, combining speed, power, and composure, makes him almost unstoppable, along with his tactical adaptability. The Real Madrid academy graduate, a key player for Luis Enrique’s PSG, had no rivals in this position.
3.William Pacho (Ecuador – PSG): center back
Had Arsenal won the Premier League, Saliba or Gabriel would surely have been in the starting XI, but always partnered with the Ecuadorian, who displayed all the virtues of a defender in 2025, a year in which the Parisians lifted six trophies.
Strong in duels, in the air and on the ground, quick to find space, precise in possession, and with remarkable tactical awareness, Pacho represents the modern center-back who not only defends but also distributes the ball effectively from the back and maintains a high defensive line.
4.Nuno Mendes (Portugal – PSG): left-back
Another standout player for the team based at the Parc des Princes, which recently celebrated its Sextuple title, is the
Sporting Clube youth academy product. He has overcome any physical doubts and established himself as the best left-back in the world in 2025, combining speed and strength with technical and tactical quality (he has also played as a left-sided stopper). Furthermore, he delivered a tremendous performance in the Final Four, both offensively and defensively, which helped Portugal win the Nations League.
5.Vitinha (Portugal – PSG): defensive pivot
Like Nuno Mendes, the Ballon d’Or Bronze winner from France Football has won seven titles in the calendar year, including the Nations League with the Portuguese national team.
Vitinha embodies the “3.0” defensive midfielder thanks to his intelligence, physical strength for disrupting play, stamina, striking ability, runs into the box, short passing, and vision. Had he won the Ballon d’Or or The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, no one would have complained.
6.Pedri (Spain – FC Barcelona): midfielder
Beyond his renowned magic, the Tenerife native has established himself as a complete midfielder for Barça and the Spanish national team. After overcoming the physical problems that plagued him between 2021 and 2024, Pedri has reached extraordinary footballing maturity, thanks to his spectacular reading of the game, composure, change of pace, vision, and ability to make decisions under pressure.
In fact, Barça would not have achieved the historic domestic treble in Spain (LaLiga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa) if the former Las Palmas youth player hadn’t performed at a near-perfect level, exceeding all expectations in terms of goals and assists; even though he finished eleventh and eighth respectively in the races for the Ballon d’Or and FIFA The Best.
7.Lamine Yamal (Spain – FC Barcelona): right winger
The Spanish-Moroccan’s performance over the past 12 months was no longer a surprise; it was a confirmation. The right winger (playing on his weaker foot) for the Blaugrana squad is one of the most unpredictable players on the planet, thanks to his audacity, dribbling skills, and ability to appear in key moments, to the point of totaling 20 goals and 26 assists, helping Hansi Flick’s team achieve the aforementioned domestic treble and the top spot in the current league season.
Lamine combines natural talent with remarkable maturity in his decision-making: he doesn’t dribble just to show off, he tries to be effective, and he succeeds, which is why at just 18 years old he is the current Ballon d’Or Silver Award winner, and also finished second in The Best FIFA Men’s Player awards.
8.Raphinha (Brazil – FC Barcelona): midfielder
While Pedri took charge of the midfield and Yamal provided the spark, the one-on-one ability, and the flair, Raphael Dias, playing as a winger or second striker, became the heart, the leadership, and the direct contributor to the goals that propelled Barcelona to lift the aforementioned team trophies this past year.
Regardless of his fifth-place finish in the Ballon d’Or, the former Leeds United and Sporting Lisbon player, among others, recorded 29 goals and 13 assists for both Barcelona and Brazil, adding an intensity with and without the ball worthy of a captain, armband or no armband.
9.Ousmane Dembélé (France – PSG): left winger
Cole Palmer could have slipped into the number 10 role, shifting Raphinha to the left wing, but it would be pointless for the newly crowned Ballon d’Or and The Best winner not to feature in this XI.
When he’s fit, “The Mosquito” is unstoppable, and the tactical development he displayed in 2025 under his coach, Luis Enrique, is another key factor in his success, one that helped PSG secure their six Champions League titles. The icing on the cake was his 24 goals and 10 assists as he bids farewell to the sport.
10.Kylian Mbappé (France – Real Madrid): forward
It mattered little that Real Madrid didn’t win any titles in 2025; Kiki totaled 65 goals (including those scored for France) in 66 matches, winning the Pichichi Trophy in La Liga on his first attempt (and putting himself on track to win it again in 2025/2026), and establishing a tally that placed him at the top of the global scoring charts, demonstrating an almost unparalleled omnipresence in the past year. Furthermore, he scored 59 goals in a Real Madrid shirt, equaling Cristiano Ronaldo’s feat for the club in 2013.
It’s not just about speed, dribbling, and a killer instinct in front of goal; it’s about leadership, decisiveness, and presence in the big moments: Mbappé is the asset Real Madrid is relying on to avoid finishing the current season empty-handed.
11.Harry Kane (England – Bayern Munich): forward
Haaland scored 55 goals and leads the Premier League scoring charts this season; however, it is Hurrikane who completes the ideal lineup, having finished the year with 64 goals and leading a Bayern Munich side that reclaimed the Bundesliga title after losing it in 2013/2024. Likewise
, the England captain once again demonstrated his ability to find the back of the net in any way, in addition to providing short and long assists, dropping deep to link up with teammates, and leading the attack.