As the end of May approaches that always means one thing for football fans. The season’s end is here. It’s a period that brings a lot of mixed emotions – the excitement of the title showdowns and cup finals, the ecstasy of winning trophies and the despair of losing out. Some of us, we even start too feel melancholic knowing that the long summer break without action lies ahead.
But it’s not only the teams that are battling it out for the trophies. The final period of the season also carries a lot of personal accolades, rewarding best players, goalkeepers, youngsters, goals, saves, etc. This season players, male and female, across 48 leagues from all over the world are competing for a very special one – Sofascore’s Player of the Season trophy.
What makes this trophy different is its unquestionable objectivity. No voters, no jury, no recency bias. Just numbers that measure everything that goes on on the field. An award that is definitely unique in that aspect, and takes it’s pride in rewarding players that aren’t always in the centre stage, that do their work impeccably well without stealing the spotlight.
The Race for the Sofascore Player of the Season trophy is really heated in most of the leagues, with just a week or two of action ahead of us. So let’s take a quick tour around Europe’s biggest leagues to see how things are going!
Premier League
The Egyptian King that has led Liverpool’s storming title charge throughout the season, racking up as much as 28 goals and adding incredible 18 assists is leading the charge.
Even though he’s slowed down a bit with only two goal involvements in the last seven matches, he’s created quite a cushion ahead of his two followers, with an average Sofascore rating of 7.81
He’s followed by Chelsea’s gem Cole Palmer who has, despite quite a goalscoring drought, managed to find ways to stay dangerous and keep pushing the Blues towards a Champions League spot in a transitional, debut season for manager Enzo Maresca. His variety of passes and the instinct to find the best solution in every situation is what has kept the Englishman in this race, earning him a 7.64 average rating.
Just 0.01 behind Palmer, the Wolves’ striker Matheus Cunha. Wolverhampton is enjoying life under new manager Vitor Pereira, and their brilliant string of results and performances turned their season around, largely thanks to Cunha and his 21 goal involvements (15G, 6A). The last two weeks could make the difference – Salah and Liverpool have clinched the title, but should they relax and take their foot of the gas in the remaining two games, Mo might just miss out on this unique trophy.
LaLiga
In Spain, two players remain in the race. Two teammates, two wingers. Two players that have torn the rival’s defences apart week after week, all season long.
Raphinha was the more effective when it comes to the end product of the game, the goals, with 18 goals and 9 assists, leading Barça’s run towards yet another LaLiga title. Thanks to the effectiveness, but also his overall attacking prowess and the danger he creates, he averages a brilliant 7.82.
But, his teammate, eleven years younger, is right up there with him. What Raphinha does on the left, Lamine Yamal does on the right flank. Arguably with less effectiveness, but with much more flair, Yamal leads the league in assists, with 13 on his count. Could it have been more? Well, it most probably should have, given that he’s managed to create as much as 28 big chances for his teammates.
But what draws the most attention and certainly contributes to his Sofascore rating of 7.80 is definitely his mesmerizing, unstoppable dribbling. With 149 successfully completed dribbles, he’s made 65 more of them then the next player in the league (Dodi Lukebakio with 84)!!!
With two games to go and neither of the two showing sings of stopping, this one is going to go right down to the wire, with each pass, shot or dribble having the potential to be the decisive one.
Serie A
In Italy, the ratings might be somewhat lower, but the race is hotter than anywhere else with as much as five players separated by just 0.03!
Amongst the players with high offensive output, an impostor! A player who’s role is to keep the goals from going in. Retegui, the undisputed Capocannoniere with 24 goals, leads the way alongside Lazio’s threat from the wing Mattia Zaccagni. Following them, another player that found the form of his life with Atalanta, Ademola Lookman, and Inter’s talisman Marcus Thuram that’s pushing the Nerazzurri’s shout for another Scudetto.
As mentioned, a goalkeeper is in the mix too – Torino’s giant between the posts, Vanja Milinković-Savić, is enjoying quite a season! He leades the league in saves (128), saves made from inside the box (83), penalties saved (4) and he’s also managed to keep a clean sheet on 10 occasions. With two games to go in Italy, a lot could change, so these five definitely need to stay at their top level!
Bundesliga
The situation in Germany is similar to that of Spain. Two players, two teammates playing in the club that ran away with the league title remain in the race.
But, this time, they’re not two dangerous wingers, two similar footballers, but rather quite opposite. One brings the spark, the chaos, the energy, the other cools everything down and has things under his control. Joshua Kimmich, Europe’s best passer and the brains behind Vincent Kompany’s Bayern machine leads the race with the average rating of 7.90
Just 0.03 behind, Michael Olise. The skillful, explosive dribbler with a special kind of flair and an eye for the goal. He’s hit double digits in both goals and assists (11G 14A) in the league, and he’s ended up in the blue (finished a match with a rating of 9 or higher) six times, with one of them being a perfect 10! One game to go in Germany, festive mood for Bayern, but we’ll se who’ll be celebrating this individual accolade come the end of the season.
Ligue 1
In France, a parallel can be drawn with the Bundesliga, but it’s not regarding teammates. It’s the duality of control vs chaos, method vs improvisation and flair, a right-back vs a winger, but sheer and utter quality on both ends.
Leading the way is Paris Saint-Germain’s right-back, Achraf Hakimi. Europe’s most productive defender has hit 10 goal involvements in the league, but what’s led him to an average rating of 7.80 is his impeccable consistency. He’s a key part of this exciting PSG side both in possession and out and with his performances on the pitch, certainly a deserved winner of our Player of the Season award.
Still, another special players has a potential to mix it up on the final week. Rayan Cherki, arguably the most technically gifted man in Europe, has been doing wonders for Olympique Lyonnais all season long. Not only his 18 goal involvements (8G 10A), but the constant threat he poses between the lines have led him to an average rating of 7.58
Other leagues around Europe
Both the title races and the POTS races are going to be pretty lit in the final week or two around Europe. In Portugal, where Sporting and Benfica are level on points heading into the final matchday, two Sporting players lead the charge. Viktor Gyökeres’ amazing goalscoring spree that has him on 38 league goals this season has led him to an average rating of 7.99, followed by Trincao’s 7.65.
In the Eredivisie, Ajax might just do the unthinkable as they went winless in their last four matches to allow PSV to take over the lead with one game to go. It’s a PSV player leading the POTS race as well, as midfielder Malik Tillman has an average rating of 7.69, staying ahead of Feyenoord’s Igor Paixao (7.60) and his PSV teammate Oliver Boscagli (7.57).
In Turkey, both the league title and the Player of the Season trophy seem to be heading to the yellow-red part of Istanbul. Victor Osimhen, largely thanks to his 24 goals in 27 matches is a bit ahead of his followers with a rating of 7.72. Fenerbahçe captain Dušan Tadić is still in the mix with 7.47, having hit double digits in both goals and assists (11G 11A). Behind him, an unlikely name follows – Kasimpaşa’s Haris Hajradinović trails Tadić by just 0.01. With two games to go in Türkiye, there’s a chance for things to mix up a bit.
We end our tour with Belgium where, much like in Serie A, five players are in contention as we head into the final two weeks. And, as well as in Italy, among them, a goalkeeper! With a rating of 7.55 KAA Gent’s Davy Roef is just 0.07 behind the leading figure, Club Brugge’s Christos Tzolis. Between them, another two Brugge players – Hans Vanaken (7.56) and Maxim De Cuyper (7.58), sharing the rating with Charleroi’s Adem Zorgane. With two weeks to go, there’s a lot of potential for things to end a lot differently in Belgium!
Check the app to find out more!
Of course, the Player of the Season race is covered in many more leagues around the entire world, and you can easily check the current situation for any league of your liking in the Sofascore app!