Ousmane Dembélé named player of the year in France for second straight year

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé was on Monday named the Ligue 1 player of the year for the second year running, after leading the club to the brink of a 14th French title and the Champions League final.

The 28-year-old becomes just the fifth player to win back-to-back awards, the last being Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2014.

Dembélé last year succeeded Kylian Mbappe who won the prize five times in a row before departing for Real Madrid.

“It’s an individual trophy but all the individual trophies I’ve won are thanks to this team,” Dembélé said.

The forward retained the honour despite having had an injury-plagued season.

He has started just nine matches in Ligue 1, notching up 960 minutes of gametime, compared to 20 starts and 1,736 minutes last season.

Despite the reduced time on the pitch, Dembélé has scored 10 goals and six assists — still down on the 21 and eight he achieved last year.

Paris Saint-Germain effectively wrapped up another Ligue 1 title on Sunday as a 1-0 win over Brest left them six points clear of nearest rivals Lens.

With just two games remaining, Luis Enrique’s side also boast a superior goal difference.

PSG will be officially crowned French champions for the fifth season running, and the 12th time in the last 14 years, if they avoid defeat away to second-placed Lens on Wednesday.

PSG are also preparing for the Champions League final against Arsenal later this month after edging Bayern 6-5 on aggregate in their semi-final.

The award for best young player went to Dembélé’s teammate Desiré Doué, while Pierre Sage picked up the honours for best coach after establishing Lens as a direct challenger to PSG.

FRANCE 24 with AFP