Ferenc Puskas is famed for being one of football’s greatest-ever goalscorers.
During his glistening career, the Hungarian legend scored 725 goals, including 242 in just 262 games for Real Madrid between 1958 and 1966.
So good was he at finding the net, that in 2009, he had an award named after him: The FIFA Puskas Award. Each year, the award is given to the player who is judged by fans across the world to have scored the “most beautiful” goal of the year.
Previous winners include Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Here, we’ve ranked all 11 of this year’s nominees.
Ranking every Puskas Award winner from worst to best since 2009
With the 2023 winner being announced by FIFA, FFC ranks the best Puskas Award goals.
Ranking the 10 best goals not to win the Puskas Award
Here are Football FanCast’s top ten Puskas-nominated goals to miss out on the award.
ByJack Salveson HolmesOct 1, 2023 6 Mohammed Kudus West Ham United v Freiburg
Mohammed Kudus’ goal for West Ham United against Freiburg in the Europa League back in March is an entirely different beast than the rest of the goals on this list.
Rather than a long-range strike or an acrobatic volley, Kudus earned his Puskas nomination with a superlative solo effort that saw him pick the ball up deep in his own half, scorch past half the Freiburg team and slot the ball into the bottom corner. Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, eat your hearts out.
5 Michaell Chirinos Costa Rica v Honduras
It’s difficult to pinpoint which was the best bit of Michaell Chirinos’ goal for Honduras against Costa Rica in March.
Was it Edwin Rodriguez’s superb solo run, piece of skill, and pass to striker Jerry Bengtson? Was it Bengtson’s subsequent back-heeled volley to Chirinos? Or was it Chirinos’ thumping volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the box? It was all pretty good, to be honest.
4 Walter Bou Lanus v Tigre
August’s meeting between Lanus and Tigre in the Argentinian top flight looked set for a draw, with the sides level at two goals apiece and the clock ticking into added time.
Walter Bou, however, had other ideas. After using his chest to control a hopeful ball forward on the edge of Tigre’s box, the striker looped a stunning scissor-kick over the goalkeeper, handing his side all three points and sending the home crowd at the Estadio Ciudad de Lanus into hysterics.
3 Alejandro Garnacho Everton v Manchester United
Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho stunned the home crowd at Goodison Park (and everyone who was watching at home) into silence with his stunning overhead kick against Everton last November.
Almost eerily similar to United legend Wayne Rooney’s goal against Manchester City in 2011, even the Argentinian himself was shocked by the goal.
“I can’t believe it, to be honest,” he said afterwards. “I didn’t see how I scored, I just listened to the crowd and said, ‘Oh my God.'”
2 Denis Omedi KCCA v Kitara
If you’re anything like us, you probably don’t get to watch much Ugandan football.
However, if Denis Omedi’s strike against KCCA in the country’s Super 8 tournament in August is anything to go by, we are clearly all missing out.
After latching on to a lofted ball forward, the Kitara forward skinned a defender with a Cruyff turn before taking aim with an improbable rabona from the edge of the box which floated into the top corner.
Sevilla’s Erik Lamela won the Puskas Award with a rabona in 2021, but we think Omedi’s is better.
