FEATURE | Pogba, Hernández, Lees-Melou: 10 players who missed out on the GFFN 100 2025 | OneFootball

We have just released the GFFN 100 2025, a ranking of the best players in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 across the calendar year, and like every year, there are some big players and a couple of standout performers who have missed out. We pick out some of the most notable absentees.

1. Lucas Hernández (29) – Paris Saint-Germain

A World Cup winner with France and a €45m signing from Bayern Munich just over two years ago, there is no obvious place in this Paris Saint-Germain side for Lucas Hernández. By the time he had recovered from his serious knee injury, sustained at the end of the 2023/24 season, Nuno Mendes’ form ensured that the left-back slot was nailed down, whilst at left-centre-back, there was no displacing Willian Pacho. 

Hernández has therefore been demoted to a backup option. He has not started any of PSG’s Champions League games this season, and whilst he features more prominently in Ligue 1 (11 appearances, 10 starts), that is only the result of a rotation policy, designed to keep the favoured starting XI fit and healthy. Disrupting that clear hierarchy could prove very difficult.

2. Pierre Lees-Melou (32) – Paris FC

Perhaps not the biggest name on this list, but Pierre Lees-Melou was, after all, the winner of the GFFN 100 2024. The midfielder, at Stade Brestois when he pulled off the feat, was struck by injury at the end of 2024, which disrupted his start to 2025. When he returned, he did so in a team in middling form, a way of the heights that they had reached the previous season.

Lees-Melou then joined the ambitious Paris FC project over the summer. He hasn’t put in a poor showing since making that move to Paris, but nor has he shone. It is instead one of his midfield partners, Maxime Lopez, who comes in at 32 in our ranking this year, who has stolen the limelight. 

3. Paul Pogba (32) – AS Monaco

This one can hardly come as a surprise. Paul Pogba is certainly one of the biggest names in Ligue 1, perhaps even the biggest. But it has been a long road back for La Pioche, who was snapped up by AS Monaco in the summer. A long rehabilitation process was put in place in order to bring him up to speed following two years in the wilderness due to a doping ban.

As a result of that process, coupled with some niggling injuries, Pogba has been restricted to around 30 minutes of football. All of his appearances have come late on in Ligue 1 games. In those games, he showed flashes of brilliance, and off-the-pitch, his mere presence in the dressing room is lauded by his teammates. There is clearly still a great player there; it is just a question of whether his body will allow him to show it in 2026.

4. Matthieu Udol (29) – RC Lens

Perhaps the most unlucky player to miss out on this list. Our list for the GFFN 100 2025 was made after matchday 12 (the final round of fixtures before the November international break). Matthieu Udol had already massively impressed by that stage, helping FC Metz earn promotion back to Ligue 1 before then slotting in seamlessly at a table-topping RC Lens side. 

But it is since November that he has taken his game up a notch. Four of his five assists this season have come since that international break. Whilst it was Pogba who won a (very arbitrary) ‘Comeback’ prize in December, Udol was perhaps a more fitting recipient, given that he has recovered from four ACL injuries to become a leading figure at a side that sits top of Ligue 1.

5. Aissa Mandi (34) – Lille OSC

Aïssa Mandi has flown under the radar this season despite regularly putting in brilliant performances in the centre of Lille OSC’s defence. While the rest of the league might be sleeping on the 34-year-old, the Lillois recognise the value of the Algerian international, who has stepped up when needed most.

With Alexsandro’s injury ruling him out for much of this campaign, Lille were desperate for a leader to organise their backline. Mandi, who was signed in the 2024 summer transfer window as a squad player, has been that organising presence, filling the void left by his teammate.

6. Aleksandr Golovin (29) – AS Monaco

AS Monaco playmaker Aleksandr Golovin is a regular in the GFFN 100, but he misses out following an inconsistent campaign. In 2025, he was outshone by those around him, notably Maghnes Akliouche and Takumi Minamino. He registered just four goal contributions last season in 29 games in all competitions. He is on course to beat that total this season, with two goals and one assist in 15 games this time around. 

But this is a season in which Golovin relapsed slightly. Adi Hutter was very concerned about the Russia international’s injury problems during the second half of last season, but proceeded to play him anyway, whilst he has already suffered one muscular injury this season. There is no reason that he can’t work his way back onto our list again next year, should his body allow.

7. Breel Embolo (28) – Stade Rennais 

Mika Biereth features very highly on our list, in 33rd place to be exact, thanks to the 13 goals in 16 Ligue 1 games that he scored following his January move to AS Monaco. But the Dane’s prolific form was, in large part, thanks to Breel Embolo, whose link-up play and ability to find Biereth were vital. 

Embolo’s own finishing can be frustrating, but his hold-up play was phenomenal, and Biereth’s form since the Swiss international’s departure to join Stade Rennais only emphasises that. Embolo’s figures since joining Rennes have been respectable, too. He has six goals in 14 games, as well as one assist. He is another of those who were very close to making our ranking.

8. Facundo Medina (26) – Olympique de Marseille

Facundo Medina simply has not played enough to feature in this year’s GFFN 100. He featured prominently in his final months as a Lens player, as they narrowly missed out on European qualification. The Argentina international then made a big-money move to Olympique de Marseille over the summer. He is one of many of OM’s signings that have yet to pay off.

An ankle injury has restricted Medina to just five appearances in all competitions for his new club. It leaves the defender on the backfoot as he looks to book a place in Argentina’s World Cup squad. He will have to hit the ground running in the New Year.

9. Thilo Kehrer (29) – AS Monaco 

Thilo Kehrer certainly still has a status at AS Monaco. One of the club’s vice-captains, he is a vocal leader, but he has become more of a bit-part player for the Principality club in 2025. No longer a guaranteed starter, he has nonetheless made 18 appearances this season. He has been aided by the arrival of Sébastien Pocognoli in that regard. Under his predecessor, Adi Hutter, Kehrer had been relegated to the bench, with the Austrian opting for an Eric Dier-Christian Mawissa partnership. 

Pocognoli’s arrival and the subsequent switch to a back three, coupled to injuries to Mawissa and Dier have furthered Kehrer’s cause for more minutes, but he has not been as dominant as he was the previous year, even if he remains a reliable pair of hands and a good character around the dressing room.

10. Sidiki Chérif (19) – SCO Angers

There were legitimate fears for SCO Angers when Esteban Lepaul left in the summer, but Sidiki Chérif has very much succeeded in allaying those fears in the opening months of the Ligue 1 season. The 19-year-old Frenchman has four goals to his name already and his performances are already attracting the attention of clubs from across Europe. 

Crystal Palace and AC Milan are two of those reportedly interested in the Angers academy product, who very narrowly missed out on our GFFN 100 list this year. At this point, it feels unlikely that he will still be around in Ligue 1 to be eligible for next year’s ranking.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle & Nick Hartland