(Paris) Kylian Mbappé was crowned best player in Ligue 1 on Monday during the UNFP Trophies in Paris, for the fifth consecutive time, before his departure from PSG whose control over these end-of-season awards was only thwarted by the Brestois Eric Roy, named best coach.
Mbappé, who played his last match at the Parc des Princes on Sunday with the Parisian jersey, improves a record he already held: never has a player been more crowned than him with this prize awarded by the players’ union (UNFP) since 1994 and whose winners are elected by their peers.
Despite a lackluster season for a player of his stature, especially since February and the announcement of his departure from the club which leaked to the press, Mbappé outclasses the other nominees, his teammate Ousmane Dembélé and Brestois Pierre Lees-Melou, real metronome of the surprise team of the season, in particular.
“It’s difficult, isn’t it? Much more than that might seem,” explained the player, referring to his departure from France at the end of the season, probably to Real Madrid.
“This is a chapter of my life that will close. Ligue 1 still has an important place in my life. I tried to do honor, to be the worthy representative of this championship. I leave with my head held high. But I would never have been able to do it without Monaco, and of course PSG, where I rubbed shoulders with exceptional players,” he added, thanking all the members of the club, without forgetting neither its president nor the Emir of Qatar, owner of PSG, what he did during his video formalizing his departure on Friday.
Among all the records he already has, Mbappé, still scoring on Sunday despite PSG’s defeat at home against Toulouse (3-1), should become the top scorer in the championship for the sixth consecutive year.
His way, whose emotions are always hushed and put in the background in favor of his sporting performances, of leaving an indelible mark on the French championship where he played for nine seasons, two at Monaco and seven at PSG.
“Today it’s just a 25-year-old guy thanking you. In Ligue 1, I always had the impression of being loved and it’s a pleasant feeling,” explained Mbappé, in front of his father Wilfrid, on the verge of tears in the audience.
In addition to Mbappé’s new trophy, the Parisian club, crowned champion of France for the 12e time in its history, has won almost all of the awards awarded by the UNFP.
His young teammate Warren Zaire-Emery, in a very open category, was named Best Hope of the season, a season that he hopes will last a long time: “the Euro, the Olympics, the baccalaureate, another trophy with the club, there is still a lot to achieve,” he said after receiving his trophy. The Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma was voted best goalkeeper.
PSG also places seven players among the eleven in the standard team of the season.
Even among the women, Paris stands out, since its Malawian attacker Tabitha Chawinga, top scorer, best passer, was crowned best player of the D1 season.
PHOTO FRANCK FIFE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Tabitha Chawinga
Eric Roy preferred to Luis Enrique
Only the title of best coach escaped the capital club, Brestois Éric Roy having been preferred to Luis Enrique.
Roy’s reward is not usurped: arriving at Brest’s bedside in January 2023, he managed to save the Breton club from relegation last season, before propelling it, for the first time in its history, to the Coupe d Europe, at least in the Europa League, maybe even in the Champions League, an extraordinary performance.
Another Brestois, attacking midfielder Kamory Doumbia, obtained the Just Fontaine Trophy for the best in L1, awarded by a public vote, for one of his four goals scored on the same day against Lorient during the 17e daytime.
In Ligue 2, Auxerre, already champion and promoted, won the most important prizes, its midfielder Gauthier Hein being crowned best player of the season and Christophe Pélissier, best coach.
The Stéphanois, still in the running for a possible return to Ligue 1, were also rewarded with Gautier Larsonneur, elected best goalkeeper, and Irvin Cardona, who won the Just Fontaine Trophy for the best goal in Ligue 2 awarded by a public vote .
As for the game directors, François Letexier, selected, with Clément Turpin, to referee the Euro in Germany in June, succeeds himself by being elected best referee of the season.
N.1 referee in France, François Letexier, who notably directed the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the beginning of April, was appointed on Monday to direct the final of the Coupe de France between PSG and Lyon, May 25 in Lille.
In the additional awards, in this Olympic year, a UNFP honorary trophy was awarded to the 1984 French Olympic team, gold medal at the Los Angeles Games and that of the citizen player was awarded this year to Raphaël Varane “for all of his commitments”.