Arsenal Midfielder Declan Rice’s stunning free-kick goal against Real Madrid has earned him a nomination for the 2025 FIFA Puskas Award. The Arsenal midfielder’s impressive strike, which helped secure a 3-0 win for Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, is among 11 goals shortlisted for the prestigious award.
Rice’s goal was shortlisted alongside talented players goals like Barcelona Lamine Yamal’s, whose breathtaking curling goal for Barcelona against Espanyol in La Liga on May 15.
The full 2025 Puskás Award nominees are:
• Alerrandro (Vitoria vs Cruzeiro, August 19, 2024)
• Alessandro Deiola (Cagliari vs Venezia, May 18, 2025)
• Pedro de la Vega (Cruz Azul vs Seattle Sounders, July 31, 2025)
• Santiago Montiel (Independiente vs Independiente Rivadavia, May 11, 2025)
• Amr Nasser (Al Ahly vs Pharco, April 17, 2025)
• Carlos Orrantía (Querétaro vs Atlas, April 16, 2025)
• Lucas Ribeiro (Mamelodi Sundowns vs Borussia Dortmund, June 21, 2025)
• Declan Rice (Arsenal vs Real Madrid, April 8, 2025)
• Rizky Ridho (Persija Jakarta vs Arema, March 9, 2025)
• Kévin Rodrigues (Kasımpaşa vs Rizespor, February 9, 2025)
• Lamine Yamal (Espanyol vs Barcelona, May 15, 2025)
The winner will be decided by a 50-50 split between fan votes and a panel of FIFA Legends. Voting is open until December 3, 2025, and the winner will be announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards.
The Puskás Award honours the most exceptional goal scored in world football, and past winners include legends like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mohamed Salah who all won the award in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2018 respectively.
