Mbappe wins award for France’s player of the year

PARIS (Agencies): Kylian Mbappe was named France’s player of the year on Monday at an awards ceremony in Paris, as he comes to the end of his seven-season stay with Paris Saint-Germain. Mbappe, 25, picked up the prize for the best player in Ligue 1 at the UNFP (French players’ union) Trophies gala for the fifth time in a row after a season in which he has scored 44 goals in all competitions for PSG. The France captain last week confirmed he will leave PSG at the end of the campaign when his contract expires, with Real Madrid expected to be his next destination. “It is a page that is turning, a chapter of my life that is going to close,” Mbappe said. “Ligue 1 will always have an important place in my life. It is the only league I have known in my career up to now. I have always tried to be an honourable representative of this league,” he added. “I will miss it for sure. It is a part of my life that is coming to an end. What is coming next is very exciting but that is something else.”

Mbappe played his final home game for PSG on Sunday and scored as the champions suffered a shock 3-1 defeat against Toulouse. That goal took him to 27 for the season in Ligue 1, eight goals more than the next best marksman, Lille’s Canadian striker Jonathan David. The season is not finished yet, with Mbappe’s PSG having two more Ligue 1 games to play this week before the French Cup final against Lyon on May 25. Mbappe saw off the other nominees for an award voted for by his fellow players and handed over by Marie-Jose Perec, the French former 200m and 400m Olympic champion. His PSG teammate Ousmane Dembele had also been in contention along with Pierre Lees-Melou of Brest, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Marseille and Edon Zhegrova of Lille. PSG’s domestic dominance was reflected in the other awards, with teenage midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery named young player of the season and Gianluigi Donnarumma the best goalkeeper. Eric Roy of Brest was named coach of the year after leading the modest Brittany club to European qualification for the first time in their history — with one game left they are guaranteed to finish at least fifth, meaning a Europa League place at worst.