Salah’s The Best Ballot Shake-Up: Hakimi Tops His Picks as Slot Drops Out
16 December 2025
Key Highlights
FIFA revealed the voices of national team captains in the voting for The Best awards, announced Tuesday in Doha. Ousmane Dembele of Paris Saint‑Germain won The Best Player award for 2025, adding to the Ballon d'Or honors, while his coach Louis Enrique took Best Coach.
The Ballots and the Fallout
The awards are decided by votes from four groups: national team captains, national team players, fans, and journalists.
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool star and Egypt captain, placed Ashraf Hakimi first on his ballot for The Best Player, followed by Dembele and Kylian Mbappe.
For Best Coach, Salah preferred Louis Enrique over Arne Slot, with Hans Flick third, according to his votes.
Salah has recently clashed with Slot, sitting on the bench in several recent games, and publicly indicated that their relationship has deteriorated from what it once was.
Punchline: Salah didn’t bench luck this time—he benched Slot instead.
Punchline 2: If votes were coffee, Salah would have ordered an extra shot of Hakimi and left Slot in the decaf.
