Mbappe achieves historic double awards in UNFP vote

PARIS, May 20 — French footballing sensation Kylian Mbappe Sunday became the first player to win both Ligue 1 Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year in the same season in the National Union of Professional Football Players (UNFP) vote.

The 20-year-old World Cup winner scored a league-leading 32 goals for Paris Saint-Germain, who have already secured the title with five rounds remaining.

After bagging the Young Player of the Year for the third straight year, Mbappe bettered his teammates Angel Di Maria and Neymar, Lille striker Nicolas Pepe and Rennes forward Hatem Ben Arfa in the Player of the Year vote.

Mbappe unsurprisingly secured his berth in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year. PSG also had Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Di Maria, Marco Verratti and Neymar in the best 11.
Pepe and the Goalkeeper of the Year winner Mike Maignan represented league runners-up Lille in the Team of the Year, which also featured Ferland Mendy and Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, and Strasbourg defender Kenny Lala.

Lille’s head coach Christophe Galtier was announced as the Ligue 1 Coach of the Year.
Lille veteran Loic Remy claimed the Ligue 1 Goal of the Year with his volley on Jonathan Ikone’s free-kick in the 36th round match against Bordeaux.

La Liga outfit Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema won the Best French Player Playing Abroad award, beating other four contenders including last two years’ winner N’Golo Kante.

All-conquering women’s side Lyon, who won the French league champions for the 13 years in a row, had four players out of five in contention for the Women’s Player of the Year, which finally went to Dzsenifer Marozsan.
After helping Paris Saint-Germain finish runners-up in women’s league with 22 goals, Marie-Antoinette Katoto took away the Women’s Young Player of the Year honor. – XINHUA