New Year's Eve is almost upon us, meaning 2025 is about to be consigned to the past – but how will it be remembered by the football world? It was certainly an unforgettable year for some players, coaches and clubs. Paris Saint-Germain, for example, finally got their hands on the trophy they craved above all others, the Champions League, thus vindicating a sensible change in recruitment strategy by the club's owners, who went from signing superstars to investing millions in youth.
Barcelona famously fell just short in the Champions League, upset by Inter in the greatest semi-final tie ever played, but the Catalans confirmed their re-emergence as a major power thanks to the already-great Lamine Yamal and Hansi Flick's high line. Elsewhere, Flamengo conquered both Brazil and South America, Lionel Messi mastered MLS, and England's women's team held onto their European Championship crown by pulling off one great escape after another.
Liverpool had a far easier time of it while winning a record-equalling 20th English championship and Bayern Munich emphatically reasserted their supremacy in Germany after being embarrassed by Bayer Leverkusen in 2024, while Antonio Conte worked his first-season magic once again by leading Napoli to their fourth Scudetto.
There were obviously numerous other talking points – and not all of them positive. But who were the biggest winners and losers of both the men's and women's games in 2025? GOAL breaks down the year that was…
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WINNER: Harry Kane
A matter of minutes after Bayern Munich's 2024-25 Bundesliga title triumph had been confirmed on May 4, Harry Kane took to Instagram to post a trophy emoji against a black background. There was no need for words. Everyone knew what it meant: the curse had been broken. After 694 games for club and country, Kane could finally call himself a champion.
"It feels amazing," the England captain later told his club's official website. "We put in a lot of hard work over the season, dedicated ourselves physically and mentally. It's a special group – the players and the staff. It's also the first trophy in my career, so it feels that extra bit sweet."
Kane's goals had been key to Bayern reclaiming their German crown from Bayer Leverkusen, with the former Spurs striker netting 26 times in 31 appearances. The crazy thing, though, is that he's performing even better this season, averaging more than a goal a game in all competitions, meaning more major honours are now a distinct possibility for a 32-year-old now playing with greater confidence and seemingly less pressure on his shoulders than ever before.
Indeed, Bayern have made a blistering start to their Bundesliga title defence and, even more importantly from Kane's perspective, Vincent Kompany's side look like serious Champions League contenders this season. With England also among the favourites to win next summer's World Cup, 2026 could be a trophy-laden year for a player that was mercilessly mocked for so many years for an unfortunate lack of silverware.
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LOSER: Trophy droughts
It wasn't just Kane who ended his trophy drought in 2025. Several clubs also ended agonising waits for silverware. Of course, some stories were more romantic than others. Newcastle, for example, are backed by the Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), though it was hard to begrudge their fans their day in the sunshine, after the Magpies stunned Arne Slot's Liverpool to win the Carabao Cup in March to lift their first domestic trophy for 70 years.
Wembley bore witness to an even bigger shock two months later, when Crystal Palace pulled off a monumental upset by beating the mighty Manchester City thanks to a solitary strike from Eberechi Eze. "We deserved it for how incredible this group are: the fans, the history, the times we've been denied. It was our time. It felt like our time," Eagles chairman Steve Parish enthused after the club claimed their first-ever trophy. Four days later, Tottenham shed their 'Spursy' tag (for a little while at least) by beating fellow Premier League strugglers Manchester United in '' a.k.a. The Europa League final.
Over in Belgium, Union Saint-Gilloise won their 12th domestic title – but first for 90 years after a remarkable recent revival overseen by Brighton owner Tony Bloom, while Dutch outfit Go Ahead Eagles claimed their first-ever KNVB Cup thanks to some sensational shot-stopping from goalkeeper Jari de Busse in their penalty shootout win over AZ Alkmaar.
Arminia Bielefeld almost did something truly historic in Germany but, in the end, the third-tier title winners were beaten 4-2 in the final of the DFB-Pokal by Stuttgart – thus ending the latter's 18-year wait for a major honour. Underdogs Bologna managed to get the job done in the Coppa Italia final, though, with Vincenzo Italiano masterminding a magnificent 1-0 win over AC Milan to earn the Rossoblu their first trophy since 1974. It was a particularly sweet success for the coach, who had lost back-to-back Conference League finals at Fiorentina.
“We had a few initial difficulties," he said of his first few months at the Dall'Ara. "But have been going from strength to strength since then, both as individuals and as a unit. Now, please let me go and celebrate, because this is incredible!"
Scotland, meanwhile, produced two shock cup winners across two seasons, as both Aberdeen and St Mirren ended droughts that had lasted more than a decade. The Dons lifted the Scottish Cup in May, while The Buddies claimed the League Cup in December. Celtic were the victims of the upset in both instances!
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WINNER: Sarina Wiegman
Sarina Wiegman joked after England's ridiculously dramatic Euro 2025 semi-final win over Italy, "We're going to make a movie about this one day!" It would probably require a trilogy, though, to do full justice to the Lionesses' successful title defence, which contained more twists and turns than a Hollywood thriller.
The entire campaign was, as Wiegman admitted, pure "chaos" from start to finish, as England recovered from a lame loss to France in their tournament-opener to somehow lift the trophy despite leading for just one minute across their three games in the knockout stage.
The players clearly deserve an enormous amount of credit for continually coming back from the brink, but the famously composed Wiegman is unquestionably the main reason why the Lionesses have been transformed from unlucky losers into a two-time European Championship-winning team that simply refuses to ever admit defeat.
As midfielder Keira Walsh said, "It makes a massive difference in the 95th minute when you're losing 1-0, and you look to the side and she's very calm. That speaks volumes of her as a manager."
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LOSER: Italy's World cup hopes
In the lead-up to Italy's World Cup qualifier with Norway in November, Gennaro Gattuso expressed his frustration with the fact that, in Europe, only group winners reach the finals, with runners-up forced to make do with a place in the play-offs. "We've got 18 points, won six games, and still we have to go into another two matches to qualify," the Azzurri coach said. "It doesn't seem right."
However, while there are undeniable flaws in the allocation of World Cup slots, Gattuso would have been better of keeping quiet because, as a second consecutive hammering at the hands of Norway underlined, Italy are lucky to even still be in with a shout of reaching next summer's tournament in North America.
Remember, Luciano Spalletti was sacked after 3-0 drubbing in Oslo (but was bizarrely allowed to remain in charge for the game against Moldova three days later), and although results improved under Gattuso, the Azzurri suffered an even more embarrassing capitulation during the second half of the return fixture at San Siro in November.
One could argue that the play-off draw has been kind to Italy, as they should overcome Northern Ireland in their semi-final showdown in Bergamo on March 26. However, if they do progress, they'll then have to face either Wales in Cardiff or Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica – and that will be a tough task for a nation scared stiff by the prospect of missing a third consecutive World Cup.
As 2006 winner Daniele De Rossi said, "The gap between Europe’s big nations and the rest has narrowed. Years ago you’d recognise the No.10 of the national team as [Francesco] Totti, [Alessandro] Del Piero, [Roberto] Baggio. Now you play Norway and you’re up against the strongest striker in the world, or two of the strongest wingers in the world. We have to accept that there are national teams today who are stronger than Italy, teams that weren’t 20 years ago."
The question, though, is why? Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina accepts that the organisation's entire approach to coaching youngsters needs to change but also points to the fact that there are just 97 players plying their trade in Serie A that are eligible for the national team.
When asked an interview with the if Italy's elite clubs had effectively become "enemies" of the Azzurri, Gravina replied, "Objectively, they are, even if unintentionally. Every club looks out for its own interest." And if that doesn't change, Italy's results won't either. At this stage, it feels like the entire structure of Italian football needs to be torn down and rebuilt – even if they manage to sneak into the World Cup via the back door.
