Former Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Lucas Ribeiro Costa has been nominated among some global stars vying for the 2025 FIFA Puskas award.
The coveted gong is for the best goal scored by a player in an official match between August 11, 2024 and August 2, 2025. Ribeiro joins nine other nominees who include Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal and Arsenal’s Declan Rice.
Yamal’s beautiful curler in a La Liga match against Espanyol on May 15 earned him the Puskas nomination. The goal will face strong contention from Rice’s stunning free-kick in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final, first-leg showdown with Real Madrid.
Voting for this category is equally shared between fans and a FIFA panel of legends, while the winner will be announced at the Best FIFA Football Awards.
WHICH ONE OF RIBEIRO’S SUNDOWNS GOALS GOT PUSKAS NOMINATION
The Brazilian attacker reached double figures in each of the two Betway Premiership seasons he played for Sundowns. He also scored in the Nedbank Cup and Carling Knockout Cup, making the MTN8 the only domestic competition in which he could not find the back of the net.
The 27-year-old was also reliable in the CAF Champions League, scoring three goals in each of the two seasons he participated. However, the Puskas nomination came from his strike against Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
A charge from the halfway line, shrugging off the challenge of Dortmund defenders, culminated in Ribeiro coolly slotting the ball past the goalkeeper, although Sundowns lost this group game 4-3.
Now with Segunda Division side Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, Ribeiro is not the only former Sundowns player to be nominated for the Puskas award. Hlompho Kekana twice made the shortlist in 2016 and 2020.
Stellenbosch FC goalkeeper Oscraine Masuluke, then with Baroka FC, was in the running for the 2017 edition of the gong.
The winner of the 2025 Puskas award will take over from Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho. Then, with Manchester United, the Argentine’s sensational bicycle kick against Everton won him the 2024 prize.
2025 FIFA PUSKAS AWARD NOMINEES
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 Orrantia, Queretaro 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
Kevin Rodrigues, Kasımpasa vs Rizespor, February 9 2025
Lamine Yamal, Espanyol vs Barcelona, 15 May 2025
RELATED STORY: ‘He not replacing Ribeiro’: Cardoso on Sundowns’s European star