English footballer Declan Rice and Spain's Lamine Yamal are among 11 footballers nominated for FIFA's Puskás Award, which recognises the most beautiful goal of the year, the international football federation announced on Thursday.
Rice earned a nomination for one of his free-kick goals in last season’s Champions League quarter-final against Thibaut Courtois’ Real Madrid.
Barcelona’s young talent Lamine Yamal was shortlisted for his stunning left-footed strike into the top corner during a match against Espanyol.
The Puskás Award, alongside the Marta Award for female players, will be presented at the upcoming ‘The Best FIFA Football Awards’ later this year. Fans and experts will vote to decide the winners, with voting open until 3 December.
The Puskás Award was first won by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009. Other past winners include Neymar (2011), Zlatan Ibrahimović (2013), James Rodríguez (2014), Mohamed Salah (2018), and Son Heung-min (2020). Lionel Messi holds the record for the most nominations, at seven, but has never won the award. In 2024, his fellow Argentine Alejandro Garnacho claimed that honour.
The Marta Award debuted last year and was immediately won by the Brazilian icon after whom it is named. Marta, now 39 years old, has been nominated again this year.
