GFFN Awards 2026: The Winners | OneFootball

Ahead of the final gameweek of the Ligue 1 season, Get French Football News unveils the winners of our annual awards. As was the case with last season’s awards, your votes over the past fortnight have been weighted 50/50 with the GFFN team’s picks to select the winners in each category. 

GFFN Ligue 1 Player of the Season – Vitinha

Following a podium finish in last year’s Ballon d’Or rankings, Vitinha has continued to serve as the anchor of an all-conquering Paris Saint-Germain midfield. His tenacious approach and his ease in gliding between opposition lines have not waned, while his passing range remains key to the Parisians’ transitions.

The Portuguese international is also a rarity in the squad, in that he is a regular presence in Luis Enrique’s lineups across all competitions. Despite playing every minute of the Champions League campaign so far, the 26-year-old has also been a fixture of the Asturian’s starting eleven in Ligue 1. The indefatigable midfielder was only stopped in his tracks by a heel injury in the second half of April, which saw him miss three games.

With more than twice as many minutes this season as the likes of Ousmane Dembélé or Marquinhos, it stands to reason that Vitinha would have the most influence on PSG’s success this season. In Ligue 1, he has often served as captain in the absence of the Brazilian defender, having assumed the role of vice-captain over the summer. Once the centre-back leaves the club, the armband will in all likelihood be passed down to Vitinha.

The midfielder will have saved his exploits in front of goal for the European stage, which has seen six of his seven goals this season, including a hat-trick in November against Tottenham. It would be no surprise to see him strike against North London opposition again at the end of the month.

Raphael Jucobin

GFFN Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season – Afonso Moreira

When Afonso Moreira was officially announced as Lyon’s first signing during a transfer window with very limited funds, a consequence of a critical financial situation, no one really knew what to expect from the young Portuguese winger. But everyone who knew him was aware that the player, who came through the ranks at Sporting CP, had a bright future ahead of him. But did that mean he would establish himself as one of the key players in a top-flight Ligue 1 side? Perhaps not. It was, however, by force of circumstance that Moreira was thrust into the limelight.

Called upon to stand in for Malick Fofana on the left flank of Lyon’s attack, the Lamego-born player was soon forced to take over from the Belgian, who had suffered a serious injury in early autumn. It was a sudden change in status, but one that Moreira handled perfectly, quickly becoming the darling of the Lyon fans, who were won over by his unparalleled dedication and consistently improving performances. Now on the verge of extending his contract by a further season, taking it through to 2030, the Portuguese player is hoping to use the 2026-27 season to cement his place in Paulo Fonseca’s squad a little more firmly. And why not improve on his already impressive statistics (eight goals and 11 assists in 36 matches)?

Léo Aschi

GFFN Ligue 1 Manager of the Season – Pierre Sage

Pierre Sage has earned his reputation as a miracle worker. At Olympique Lyonnais, he was parachuted into a club in crisis during the 2023/24 season, dragging them from the foot of the table and lifting them into Europe and the Coupe de France final. An achievement that was rewarded with an unceremonious send-off midway through the next season, so that the club could attract the more glamorous name of Paulo Fonseca. 

Lyon’s loss was RC Lens’s gain, with Sage appointed to oversee a new austere era at the club. Les Sang et Or were expected to struggle to finish in Europe after selling most of their key assets, but Sage has once again worked his magic. Lens spent most of this season in a title race with Paris Saint-Germain and are on the cusp of their first major domestic silverware since the 90s, ahead of a Coupe de France final where they’ll play strugglers OGC Nice. 

Being successful once can be written off as luck, but twice begins to suggest a pattern. Sage has shown himself to be one of the most exciting managers to emerge from France. And the hope for Lens will be that he will stave off outside interest to lead them into next season’s UEFA Champions League campaign. 

Nick Hartland

GFFN Ligue 1 Signing of the Season – Mamadou Sangaré

RC Lens most expensive signing of the last summer transfer window, Mamadou Sangaré, arrived in France largely unknown to the general public. However, he soon managed to win them over. It didn’t take long for the midfielder to make his mark away from Austria, where he had settled in 2020 to continue the training he had begun in Mali, his native country. Immediately thrown in at the deep end by Pierre Sage, the former Rapid Vienna player quickly became a key cog in the Sang et Or system. And, as a result, a regular and indispensable first-team player.

Furthermore, Sangaré has started 29 of the 31 matches he has played for Lens this season, scoring three goals and providing four assists. As a testament to his remarkable and widely recognised rise to prominence, the Bamako-born player recently won the 2026 Marc-Vivien Foé Award, which is presented annually to the best African player in Ligue 1. In doing so, he has added his name to the prestigious list of previous winners, which includes the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Didier Drogba and Victor Osimhen. That’s quite something.

Léo Aschi

GFFN Ligue 1 Flop of the Season – Lucas Chevalier

Of all the possible and unimaginable twists and turns Lucas Chevalier’s season could have taken, none would certainly have been as chaotic as the one the French goalkeeper has experienced. Yet everything seemed to have started well for the Calais native. Having become the third most expensive goalkeeper of all time when he joined Paris Saint-Germain from Lille OSC for €55m, the 24-year-old immediately made his mark, helping his new team win the first European Super Cup in their history.

Chevalier had gone on to make a string of starts, despite a few errors noted by observers. Not enough, however, to prompt his manager to withdraw his confidence in him. Or at least not before January. A turning point for the French national team’s number two, who, in the space of a few weeks, has seen his teammate Matvey Safonov take his place in the starting line-up and snatch every minute of every match played by PSG. So much so that Chevalier’s last appearance in an official match now dates back to 23rd January. And fans will certainly have to wait until next August to hope to see him back on the pitch, having been left out of Didier Deschamps’ squad for the World Cup in the United States.

Léo Aschi

GFFN Best Frenchman Abroad – Michael Olise

Michael Olise’s reputation as a laid-back, media-shy guy is well-known, but this season, the France international’s talking on the pitch is too deafening to ignore. He has been rightly recognised – by both GFFN and UNFP – as the best Frenchman abroad this season.

The numbers behind Olise’s sophomore campaign in Germany are astonishing. The 24-year-old has led Bayern Munich, alongside goal-scoring machine Harry Kane and his dizzying opposite number, Luis Diaz, to a flawless Bundesliga title charge with 15 goals and 19 assists in just 31 appearances.

His impact extended to Europe too, logging four goals and six assists to help fire the Bavarians into the Champions League semi-finals. A squad option for his 2024 debut for France, he’s now an undisputed starter at the heart of Didier Deschamps’ 4-2-3-1 setup.

What makes Olise the standout French performer this season, and a serious Ballon d’Or contender, isn’t just his output, but the consistency and efficiency with which he delivers it. Whether it’s a pinpoint cross or a signature Robben-like left-footed finish from the right wing, the London-born France international makes things happen through his skillset and his vision of the game.

“When he gets the ball, he sees things that few others can. He perceives the game differently; he’s not like other players”, lauded Thierry Henry, who coached Olise during France’s run to the 2024 Paris Games’ silver medal. The world took notice, too.

Bastien Cheval

GFFN Ligue 1 Team of the Year

Robin Risser; Nuno Mendes, Malang Sarr, Willian Pacho, Achraf Hakimi; Adrien Thomasson, Vitinha, Mamadou Sangaré; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Esteban Lepaul, Florian Thauvin.

The Bench

Hervé Koffi (Angers), Matthieu Udol (Lens), Charlie Cresswell (Toulouse), Guéla Doué (Strasbourg), Corentin Tolisso (Lyon), João Neves (PSG), Afonso Moreira (Lyon), Joaquín Panichelli (Strasbourg), Désiré Doué (PSG)

>> READ: Our full Ligue 1 Team of the Year profile piece

GFFN | Luke Entwistle