Kylian Mbappé will have no successor in 2020. The world champion, named best player of the 2018-2019 season by his peers, had received the UNFP (National Union of Professional Footballers) trophy on May 19, 2019. Mbappé had also won that day the best hope trophy. But there will be no UNFP trophies awarded for the 2019-2020 season. No better player, hope, goalkeeper or coach. The decision should be announced quickly by the union.
It is not the premature end of the season that is behind this decision. Because if a champion of France, European places and relegated to Ligue 2 were decreed after only 28 days of the championship, it would not have been illogical to also designate the best player.
But, in fact, it seems impossible to collect the votes of the players. In practice, UNFP delegates have become accustomed to visiting clubs in April, when nearly 32 or 33 championship days have been contested. For the past few years, they have been installing tablets at the entrance to the locker room where players can vote.
Too complicated to contact players directly
It's much more practical, especially since on these tablets you can vote with the players' photos. Much more practical than settling for names ... not always known to all the players in the championship ...
But this year, obviously, the UNFP will not be able to go to the training centers. If some clubs have resumed or will resume training (Nice, Marseille, Nantes, Strasbourg or Rennes for example), others will remain closed. Under these conditions, the collection of votes seems complicated. To do it individually, by contacting the players directly would be too difficult and too long. Under these conditions, the cancellation of the UNFP trophies for this season should be announced.
The big loser would certainly be a Parisian. Because we do not see who could have competed with Mbappé and Neymar this season. And, to be even more precise, we do not see how the latter could have been beaten. The Brazilian ruled the Paris game which he improved. He returned the audience from the Parc des Princes after an exceptional goal against Strasbourg. Beyond his 13 goals and 6 assists in just 15 games, Neymar has had a quality season. And that could have allowed him to win a second UNFP trophy after that of 2018. But he should have been able to vote.
