In brief
Player quality is reflected in Man of the Match awards; impact and season consistency reveal actual skill levels.
Compared to Messi, Lamine Yamal shines, winning 12 honors at the young age of 17, suggesting greatness in the future.
With their outstanding goal involvements, players like Salah and Raphinha keep getting better.
While goalkeepers and defenders are frequently evaluated by the number of clean sheets they record, talent may be evaluated in a variety of ways, including how well a football player performs in crucial situations and how many goals and assists they accumulate during a season. The number of Man of the Match awards a player receives during a campaign, however, is arguably one of the more underappreciated but telling metrics.
Being a big-game player is one thing, but delivering results every week—whether it’s navigating the ship toward silverware or keeping it steady—is quite another. Having a squad full of fireworks one week and damp squibs the next isn’t very nice, after all.
We’ve looked at the players that won the most Man of the Match accolades during the 2024–2025 season below, and the results, which come from WhoScored, are definitely surprising.
The top 20 players in 2024–2025 for most man-of-the-match awards. Six Man of the Match honors went to Dan Ndoye (Bologna).
Bologna had a memorable season. They won the Coppa Italia, their first major championship since 1974, despite placing a meek tenth in Serie A. Dan Ndoye proved the difference as they defeated AC Milan in a close final. The right-winger contributed nine goals and six assists in all competitions.
19. Six Man of the Match honors for Chelsea’s Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer is without a doubt one of England’s best players at the moment, and he demonstrated this once more this past season by helping Chelsea finish in the top four with 23 Premier League goals. The Wythenshawe-born playmaker led the Blues and set the pace in both tournaments as they won the Europa Conference League to complete their European set.
18. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka won six Man of the Match honors.
Bukayo Saka accomplished 12 goals and 14 assists in spite of missing a significant portion of the season due to a hamstring injury. Arsenal traditionally depends on the winger to make the difference, and in close games, it’s typically his goals that tip the scales. By his lofty standards, his six Man of the Match honors this season seem nearly inevitable.
17. Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo – 6 Awards for Man of the Match
When Ivan Toney went without Brentford signing a replacement, Thomas Frank must have been in a state of confusion. Don’t worry, though; Bryan Mbeumo was always prepared to take center stage. Bees supporters may beg you to keep it down if you mention their previous talisman after twenty goals and seven Premier League assists. The Cameroonian is doing well in those boots and is therefore being linked to Manchester United.
16. Six Man of the Match honors for Genoa’s Andrea Pinamonti
Andrea Pinamonti of Genoa is renowned for being one of the few strikers in Italian football who can truly brag about being able to do it all: connect transitions, hold up play, and score goals on the ground or in the air. He handles a lot of the offensive work alone. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that he is at the forefront of the Italin team’s victory.
15. Fulham’s Alex Iwobi won six Man of the Match honors.
It’s easy to overlook how crucial Alex Iwobi was to Fulham’s explosive start to the season as the final player to win six Man of the Match accolades and the third from the Premier League. Back in November, when the Cottagers appeared to be serious contenders for European qualifying, the Nigerian was scoring goals and providing assists for joy. It seems like a lifetime ago now. Additionally, Iwobi frequently contributed to many goals, so when he did, it was typically accompanied with a nomination for Man of the Match.
14. Napoli’s Scott McTominay – 7 Awards for Man of the Match
Last summer, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, and Nemanja Matic were among those who cautioned Manchester United against selling Scott McTominay. The club’s management must be regretting their decision to disregard this advise now. With 12 goals and four assists in his first season in Serie A, McTominay won Player of the Year and demonstrated his value much beyond the infamous “McFred” duo.
13. Seven Man of the Match accolades went to Joan Garcia (Espanyol).
You wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Joan Garcia of Espanyol is the only goalkeeper and defender in world football to have won enough Man of the Match honors to be on this list. The situation becomes somewhat clearer, though, given that he managed to maintain eight clean sheets in spite of giving up 51 goals in 38 games. He was a lone shield in a flurry of fire, and it is nothing short of heroic that he kept out any opponents at all when his goal was under near-constant siege.
12. Auxerre’s Gaetan Perrin won seven Man of the Match honors.
The key to Auxerre’s ascent up the ranks last season was Gatean Perrin, who finished the newly promoted team comfortably in 11th place with 10 goals and 11 assists in the Ligue 1 season. Because of his unwavering work ethic, he is frequently referred to as “Le Combattant” (the fighter), and everything involving his squad passes through him.
11. Napoli’s Frank Anguissa – 7 Awards for Man of the Match
It would be easy to overlook Frank Anguissa when Romelu Lukaku’s goal-scoring prowess and McTominay’s comeback took center stage at Napoli’s fourth Scudetto under Antonio Conte’s coaching last season. However, he made up for his lack of attention by winning Man of the Match accolades since the mantle-bearers took notice of his hard work.
10. Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz – 7 Awards for Man of the Match
Florian Wirtz, who won the Bundesliga Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year, is rapidly becoming the world’s best attacking midfielder. With ten goals and eleven assists in the previous season, he seemed to have earned a lucrative transfer to Liverpool in the Premier League. He will probably be even more the focus of attention and a source of admiration at Anfield.
9. Nine Man of the Match honors for Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele
Ousmane Dembele is currently the front-runner for this year’s Ballon d’Or after leading Paris Saint-Germain to the Champions League, where the Parisians defeated Inter Milan 5-0. For a player who was previously dismissed as a Barcelona failure, his 46 goal involvements in 48 matches represent a remarkable comeback.
8. Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, who won nine Man of the Match honors
From his unimpressive environment in the Championship with Reading, Michael Olise has transformed into a resilient Frenchman. Now, not only in the Bundesliga but all around Europe, he is leaving defenders completely dazed by his erratic movement and vision. The former game-changer for Crystal Palace is still underappreciated but unquestionably exceptional and is proving to be worth his weight in gold.
7. Wolves’ Matheus Cunha, who won nine Man of the Match honors
Brazilian winger Matheus Cunha is a jewel that Manchester United has acquired. With 15 goals and six assists in 33 Premier League games, he frequently led Wolves to win on his own. His genius is largely responsible for Wolves’ survival, and despite his team’s obvious shortcomings, his one-man band exploits earned him nine Man of the Match honors.
6. Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, who has won nine Man of the Match honors
Kylian Mbappe didn’t win a single trophy in his first season at Real Madrid, and it was probably the hardest thing to watch from home when his old team, PSG, finally won the Champions League for the first time. However, he wasn’t to blame for the absence of silverware. Mbappe enjoyed an outstanding season on his own, winning the European Golden Shoe and Real Madrid’s Player of the Year award for his astonishing 42 goals in 55 games.
5. Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, who has won nine Man of the Match honors
As a creative playmaker, a deep-lying attacker, and a poacher in the box, Harry Kane is maybe the most versatile forward in world football right now. Both club and country have greatly benefited from his adaptability. With nine Man of the Match honors under his belt, he was at the forefront of the festivities when he was eventually rewarded with a Bundesliga title this season.
4. Barcelona’s Raphinha won ten Man of the Match honors.
Raphinha, who was once Marcelo Bielsa’s poster child at Leeds United, is the first player on this list to reach double digits in Man of the Match awards. He is tearing apart defenses at Barcelona with frightening ease. He led the assists list with nine and finished as the joint-top scorer with thirteen goals in the Champions League.
3. 10 Man of the Match accolades for Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah was once written off as a one-season wonder, but his final eight years at Liverpool changed the course of history. Now, Europe will have to deal with the fallout as he commits to Anfield for two more years. With 47 goal involvements in a single season in 2024–2025, Salah tied the Premier League record and helped the Reds win their 20th league championship.
2. Marseille’s Mason Greenwood, who won eleven Man of the Match honors
Mason Greenwood, who received 11 Man of the Match accolades, is the greatest surprise on this list. Even though manager Roberto De Zerbi publicly criticized Greenwood’s work ethic and attitude, he still managed to score 21 goals and dish out five assists in 34 Ligue 1 games for Marseille, demonstrating that he is surpassing expectations despite his ongoing struggles with his off-field reputation.
1. 12 Man of the Match honors for Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal
Football fans are already comparing Lamine Yamal to Lionel Messi at the age of 17, and many question whether his predecessor was ever this talented at such a young age.
The incredible young Spaniard participated in 55 games last season and was named Man of the Match in 12 of them, making him the best player on the field in 21% of all of his games. Although it might happen much sooner than most people think, the comet is predicted to be the greatest in the globe at some point.
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