Mohamed Salah’s The Best votes reveal Achraf Hakimi preference and coaching surprise

FIFA has published the ballots cast by national team captains for The Best awards, revealing how Egypt star Mohamed Salah voted in the 2025 edition held in Doha.

French winger Ousmane Dembele of Paris Saint-Germain won The Best Men’s Player award for 2025, adding it to the Ballon d’Or, while his coach Luis Enrique was named Best Men’s Coach.

The prizes are decided by votes from four groups: national team captains, national team coaches, journalists and fans.​

As captain of Egypt, Salah put Morocco and PSG full-back Achraf Hakimi first on his list for Best Player, placing Dembele second and PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe third. The bigger surprise came in the coaching category, where Salah chose Luis Enrique ahead of his own Liverpool manager Arne Slot, with German boss Hansi Flick in third.​

The article links this choice to Salah’s recent tension with Slot, after a spell of games starting on the bench that prompted the Egyptian to say publicly that his relationship with the Dutch coach had “broken” following an initially positive start.

The voting revelations add another layer to that story, suggesting Salah sees Enrique’s work at PSG as more deserving of top recognition than that of his current club manager