Wikipedia

Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year

The UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year is an official award given by the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP) to a player aged 23 years or under at the start of the season whose performances are considered to be the best in Ligue 1, France's top professional football league. The inaugural award was handed to midfielder Zinedine Zidane of Bordeaux, following the 1993–94 Division 1 season.[1] It has been awarded ever since its inception, with the exception of the 2019−20 season, where the competition was abruptly cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Ligue 1 Young Player of the season
Zinedine Zidane won the inaugural award in 1994 with Bordeaux.
SportAssociation football
LeagueLigue 1
Awarded forbeing the best performing player in a Ligue 1 season whilst aged 23 years or under at the start of the season.
CountryFrance
Presented byUnion Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels
History
First award1994; 30 years ago (1994)
Editions29 (as of 2023)
First winnerFrance Zinedine Zidane
Most winsFrance Kylian Mbappé (3 awards)
Most recentFrance Warren Zaïre-Emery (2023–24)

The award has been given to 27 different players over the course of 30 seasons, with only Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappé winning the award on more than one occasion. Of these players, only Mbappé has won the award three times. Hazard (Belgium), Marco Verratti (Italy), Younès Belhanda (Morocco), and Nuno Mendes (Portugal) are the only recipients of the award who represent a nation other than France.

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery is the most recent winner of the award, which was awarded to him for his performances in the 2023–24 Ligue 1 season.[3]

Winners

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Kylian Mbappé has the most wins by a single player in the history of the awards, with three.
Award recipients
Season Player Nationality Club Position Ref.
1993–94 Zinedine Zidane   France Bordeaux Midfielder [1]
1994–95 Florian Maurice   France Lyon Forward [1]
1995–96 Robert Pires   France Metz Forward [1]
1996–97 Thierry Henry   France Monaco Forward [1]
1997–98 David Trezeguet   France Monaco Forward [1]
1998–99 Olivier Monterrubio   France Nantes Midfielder [1]
1999–2000 Philippe Christanval   France Monaco Defender [1]
2000–01 Sidney Govou   France Lyon Forward [1]
2001–02 Djibril Cissé   France Auxerre Forward [1]
2002–03 Lionel Mathis   France Auxerre Midfielder [1]
2003–04 Patrice Evra   France Monaco Defender [1]
2004–05 Jérémy Toulalan   France Nantes Midfielder [1]
2005–06 Franck Ribéry   France Marseille Forward [1]
2006–07 Samir Nasri   France Marseille Midfielder [1]
2007–08 Hatem Ben Arfa   France Lyon Forward [1]
2008–09 Eden Hazard   Belgium Lille Forward [1]
2009–10 Eden Hazard (2)   Belgium Lille Forward [1]
2010–11 Mamadou Sakho   France Paris Saint-Germain Defender [1]
2011–12 Younès Belhanda   Morocco Montpellier Midfielder [4]
2012–13 Florian Thauvin   France Bastia Forward [5]
2013–14 Marco Verratti   Italy Paris Saint-Germain Midfielder [6]
2014–15 Nabil Fekir   France Lyon Forward [7]
2015–16 Ousmane Dembélé   France Rennes Forward [8]
2016−17 Kylian Mbappé   France Monaco Forward [9]
2017−18 Kylian Mbappé (2)   France Paris Saint-Germain Forward [10]
2018−19 Kylian Mbappé (3)   France Paris Saint-Germain Forward [11]
2019−20 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic [2]
2020−21 Aurélien Tchouaméni   France Monaco Midfielder [12]
2021−22 William Saliba   France Marseille Defender [13]
2022−23 Nuno Mendes   Portugal Paris Saint-Germain Defender [3]
2023−24 Warren Zaïre-Emery   France Paris Saint-Germain Midfielder [14]

Multiple wins

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Multiple wins
Rank Player Total Seasons
1   Kylian Mbappé (FRA) 3 2016−17, 2017−18, 2018−19
2   Eden Hazard (BEL) 2 2008−09, 2009−10

Awards won by club

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Awards won by club
Club Total
Monaco 6
Paris Saint-Germain
Lyon 4
Marseille 3
Auxerre 2
Lille 2
Nantes 2
Bastia 1
Bordeaux 1
Metz 1
Montpellier 1
Rennes 1

Awards won by nationality

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Awards won by nationality
Nationality Total
  France 25
  Belgium 2
  Italy 1
  Morocco 1
  Portugal 1

Awards won by playing position

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Awards won by playing position
Position Total
Forward 16
Midfielder 9
Defender 5
Goalkeeper 0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Palmarès Trophées UNFP - Oscars du football - Meilleur espoir de Ligue 1" [UNFP Trophies - Football Oscars - Best Ligue 1 hopeful]. Sport Palmares (in French). Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Ligue 1 & 2: France's top two divisions will not resume this season". BBC Sport. 28 April 2020. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b Losada, Antonio (29 May 2023). "Nuno Mendes named Young Player of the Year for 2022/23 season". MSN. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Player of the Year Hazard Chooses Manchester". Ligue 1. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Ibrahimovic takes Player of the Year Gong". Ligue 1. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  6. ^ Bosse-Platière, Raphaël (11 May 2014). "Trophées UNFP : Marco Verratti sacré meilleur espoir" [UNFP Trophies: Marco Verratti crowned best hope] (in French). RTL. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Alexandre Lacazette beats PSG stars to Ligue 1 Player of the Year award". ESPN FC. 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Ibrahimovic named Player of the Year". Ligue 1. 8 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Trophées UNFP: Cavani, Jardim, Mbappé... Le palmarès complet" [UNFP Trophies: Cavani, Jardim, Mbappé... The full prize list] (in French). RTL. 15 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Trophées UNFP: Neymar, Mbappé... Découvrez le palmarès 2018" [UNFP Trophies: Neymar, Mbappé... Discover the 2018 prize list] (in French). RTL. 13 May 2018. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Mbappé wins awards double". Ligue 1. 19 May 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Aurélien Tchouameni named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year". AS Monaco. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  13. ^ Bosher, Luke (16 May 2022). "William Saliba wins Ligue 1 young player of the year". The Athletic. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Warren Zaïre-Emery, élu meilleur espoir de l'année : « Très content de recevoir ce trophée »". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 13 May 2024.
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