Little surprise to close the 34th UNFP Trophies ceremony. While all the awards had been awarded, it remained to crown the best player in Ligue 1. Crowned last season, Ousmane Dembélé was one of the five named with Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, Mason Greenwood and Florian Thauvin. The latter could also hope to play a nasty trick at the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
With 10 goals and 5 assists in 31 matches, the 2018 world champion thought he would take advantage of RC Lens’ very good season (2nd in the championship and qualified for the next Champions League) to be crowned. Winner of the Player of the Month trophy three times this season, Thauvin had high hopes. But in the end, Dembélé retained his title.
Dembélé retains his crown
The number 10 of Paris Saint-Germain played fewer matches than Thauvin (20 matches, 10 goals, 6 assists), but this was enough to convince the other L1 players to vote in his favor. With this second consecutive coronation, Dembélé became the fifth player to retain his crown in the history of the UNFP Trophies.
“It’s thanks to the whole club, I have exceptional teammates, there are three or four who can win these trophies. The supporters are exceptional. We are going to stay focused because there is the Champions League final and the World Cup. I thank all my family, coach Luis Enrique and Vitinha also because he asked me to pay tribute to him, he is an exceptional teammate, he would have deserved this trophy, but hey with a goal… (laughs)”confided the winner, with a touch of humor.
