GFFN 100 | How the GFFN team voted for Ligue 1’s best player | OneFootball

Pierre Lees-Melou has been announced as the winner of the 2024 edition of the Get French Football News (GFFN) 100. However, GFFN’s panel of journalists were not unequivocal in handing the award of Best Player in Ligue 1 to the influential Stade Brestois midfielder. Below, those who voted explain their reasoning for their No.1 pick.

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Luke Entwistle – Editor-in-Chief

No.1 pick – Pierre Lees-Melou

Kylian Mbappé’s departure from Ligue 1, coupled with PSG’s new strategy, moving away from big-name players and renowned global stars, threw the race for this year’s award wide open. Jonathan David’s prolific goal-scoring form across 2024, as well as the highly consistent and influential Vitinha at PSG, would both have deserved the GFFN 100 Player of the Year title, in my opinion.

However, I went for Brest’s Pierre Lees-Melou. His out-of-possession statistics ranked him among the best midfielders in Europe last season as he played the starring role in Brest’s fairytale success story as they qualified for European football for the first time in their history. It is in part that collective achievement that edged it for me as no player at any club was as central to the team’s success as Lees-Melou was at Brest.

Liam Wraith – Sub-Editor

No.1 pick -Bradley Barcola

Bradley Barcola was my pick for Player of the Year because of how he has offered PSG a quantum of solace in attack following the departure of one of world football’s biggest names in Kylian Mbappé. The France international has become Luis Enrique’s most dependable option in attack ahead of the likes of Ousmane Dembélé and Gonçalo Ramos has found his feet in front of goal in the process with impressive scoring form this term. Replacing the Real Madrid attacker was always going to be an impossible task but the former Lyon winger’s exceptional adaptation to Les Parisiens’ leading attacking force is worthy of such an accolade.

Bastien Cheval – Sub-Editor

No.1 pick -Bradley Barcola

I picked Bradley Barcola as the GFFN Ligue 1 Player of the Year courtesy of his remarkable improvement over those last 12 months. When PSG knocked on Lyon’s door last year to secure his services, I assumed that Barcola would be used as a squad player, fitting Les Parisiens’ new sporting policy revolving around luring young French talents.

I was proven wrong as Barcola went from strength to strength, displaying a unique ability to operate on both wings of a front three and, most importantly for a striker, a lethal touch in front of goal. Tasked with the impossible mission of replacing Kylian Mbappé, Barcola went up a gear, taking the lead in PSG’s attack with ten goals in the first 11 Ligue 1 games of the campaign.

George Boxall – Sub-Editor

No.1 pick – Pierre Lees-Melou

Pierre Lees-Melou is a name we won’t forget for a long time in French football. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, the Frenchman has been the midfield linchpin for one of the greatest success stories in Ligue 1 this century. The rise of Brest and their adventure in Europe has to be credited in part to Lees-Melou: whether he sits in front of defence or acts as a danger-man on the edge of the box, he’s been an incredible talisman. The difference is clear when Éric Roy is able to pick the Frenchman, such is his importance to Les Pirates over the past year.

The Frenchman represents everything that is great about the French football pyramid, and the ability for unexpected protagonists to rise to the very top. For that, he more than deserves to be recognised as the best player in French football this year.

Raphaël Jucobin – Sub-Éditor

No.1 pick – Pierre Lees-Melou

The standout player of Brest’s sensational calendar year. Lees-Melou was the primary midfield force that helped the Bretons finish in third place last season, consistently turning in commanding performances across the pitch. Through his sheer quantity of interceptions, recoveries and driving forward runs, the 31-year-old has been an imposing presence on Ligue 1 pitches in 2024. While he has been less effective in front of goal compared to past seasons, each one of his five strikes has been decisive — notably, his late winner against Marseille back in February.

Although he has missed much of the new campaign due to a fibula injury, Lees-Melou has continued to deliver when called upon — his volleyed equaliser against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League notably springs to mind. Already well overdue a France call-up, the former Bordeaux youth player will remain a serious contender for Les Bleus’ midfield if he returns to action in the new year with the same aplomb.

Nick Hartland – Sub-Editor

No.1 pick – Vitinha

Vitinha has become the unlikely figurehead of a new era in the French capital. He embodies PSG’s shift towards the bigger picture rather than the bigger name, as he was not bought for his star power but for his utility.

Last season was a transformative point in Vitinha’s career as he was entrusted with the keys to Luis Enrique’s midfield. He pulled the strings of a team that won a domestic double and reached the Champions League semi-final.

And in the summer he was rewarded with a spot in Roberto Martínez’s Portuguese selection for the Euros. Vitinha is also an exceptionally fun player to watch. He’s a terrier in defence and velvet on the ball. For me, he’s the most important player in the most successful team in France and a player that is due his flowers.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle