At the ceremony held in Madrid (Spain), the French football representative surpassed many outstanding candidates such as the England women's team (Euro 2025 champion), the European golf team (Ryder Cup winner), the McLaren team (F1 world champion), and the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team (NBA champion).
The title is considered the "Oscar of Sports" to honor collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in the year. In 2025, coach Luis Enrique and his team made a big impression when they won 6 titles including the Champions League, Ligue 1, French National Cup, French Super Cup, European Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Previously, only Barcelona (2009) and Bayern Munich (2020) achieved similar results.
In this historic journey, PSG's first Champions League title is considered the most important milestone. The Paris capital team successively surpassed Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal before winning big against Inter Milan 5-0 in the final. Notably, this feat came after PSG parted ways with big stars such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
In the individual categories, former midfielder Toni Kroos received the "Most Inspiring Athlete" award thanks to community activities through a charity fund supporting disadvantaged children.
The "Best Male Athlete of the Year" title belongs to player Carlos Alcaraz after winning two Grand Slam titles in 2025 and continuing to win the Australian Open 2026. The Spanish player became the fourth name in tennis to ever receive this award, after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In which, Djokovic is holding the record of 5 wins, one more than Federer and track and field athlete Usain Bolt.
In the women's category, tennis player Aryna Sabalenka was honored after winning the US Open and the runner-up title at Roland Garros 2025. The record for the number of times she won this award still belongs to Serena Williams and Simone Biles with 4 times each.
Racer Lando Norris received the "Discovery of the Year" award, while golfer Rory McIlroy was awarded the "Return of the Year" award after winning The Masters Tournament consecutively in 2025 and 2026.
