Paris Saint-Germain was statistically the best club side in Europe’s top leagues in 2022. In the new year things are not going so well for the noble club, the Ligue 1 top games against RC Lens and Stade Rennes were lost. The team around its superstars Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar wants to get new momentum these days in Saudi Arabia in a test against Cristiano Ronaldo, among others. Meanwhile, there is an award for Mbappe.
The renowned sports newspaper The team has voted the striker the most influential person in French football, as it did in 2022. Bearing in mind the headlines that hardly anyone in France makes as reliably as the attacker from PSG, is not surprising. In the past twelve months, for example, his surprising contract extension after a long flirtation with Real Madrid, supposed farewell thoughts in the fall and an outstanding World Cup, including a hat-trick in the final against Argentina.
Messi not on the podium
Mbappe is in the ranking, which includes 30 women and men who shape football in France, ahead of national coach Didier Deschamps, who recently renewed his contract. In third place is Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, who was placed directly behind Mbappe in the 2022 ranking. Messi has also lost a place and has to make do with the ‘Wooden Medal’ in fourth place, although he has finally arrived on the football Olympus with the World Cup triumph.
Neymar drops significantly, Kolo Muani new
The third superstar in the group, Neymar, drops significantly in 16th place. The newspaper gives him less importance than the non-club coach Zinedine Zidane (5th place), referee Stephanie Frappart (6th place) or PSG boss Nasser El-Khelaifi (8th place). Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt’s shooting star, Randal Kolo Muani, is new in the ranking in 23rd place. Former Munich Bundesliga professional Bixente Lizarazu, who is one of the top TV experts in France, is two places ahead of him.
