Kylian Mbappé set for record sixth Ligue 1 award

As expected, Paris Saint-German, who were crowned Ligue 1 champions for the third year running at the weekend, monopolize almost all the categories of this year’s UNFP (Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels) awards. Kylian Mbappé has been nominated for the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award, while PSG coach, Luis Enrique features among the candidates to receive the award for best coach in the French league.

Mbappé to overtake Papin

Mbappé, who is currently on 26 goals, is also in line to pick up his sixth consecutive trophy for ending as the league’s top scorer - surpassing Jean-Pierre Papin’s record of five. He is also expected to be named the best footballer in the French league for the fifth consecutive time - extending the record which he already holds.

Among the others nominees are Pierre Lees-Melou (Brest), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Olympique Marseille), Ousmane Dembélé (PSG) and Edon Zhegrova (Lille).

Curiously, the Parisian club were overlooked for the the best coach award during the past two years, despite being crowned champions. Neither Mauricio Pochettino nor Christophe Galtier received the recognition, unlike Luis Enrique, who appears on the list along with Éric Roy (Brest), Franck Haise (RC Lens), Paulo Fonseca (LOSC Lille) and Luka Elsner (Le Havre). He could become the second Spanish coach to achieve the award, after Unai Emery.

As for the Goalkeeper of the Year award, Nice’s Marcin Bułka has the best figures so far with just 25 goals conceded - two less than Lille’s Lucas Chevalier. They appear as the main favorites, in a list that includes: Marco Bizot (Brest), Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG) and Brice Samba (Lens).

The 32nd edition of the UNFP awards ceremony will take place on Monday 13 May at the Pavillon d’Armenonville in Paris. Before that Mbappé and Co have their Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund to get through.