Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe nominated for Best Goal of the Season

The UNFP revealed the five finalists for the Best Goal of the Season award for the 2022/23 Ligue 1 campaign. Both PSG forwards and world champions Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi can be found in the list thanks to their respective goals against Lille and Clermont.

A plethora of PSG players have been nominated for different UNFP trophies a few days ago, with the announcements scheduled for Sunday, May 28th, and Mbappe and Messi got another call on Tuesday thanks to their brilliant goalscoring efforts.

After having unveiled all the lists of nominees a few days ago, the UNFP revealed the final batch of candidates for the final award, that of Best Goal of the Season in Ligue 1.

Kylian Mbappe's goal against Lille after dribbling two players, and Lionel Messi's acrobatic strike against Clermont at the very start of the season are the two candidates coming from Paris.

The French and the Argentinian will face three equally exceptional goals: a strong strike from Jean-Eudes Aholou (Strasbourg) against Marseille, a long shot from Ismael Doukoure (Strasbourg) against Troyes, and finally an acrobatic scissor-kick from Elye Wahi (Montpellier) against Lyon.

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, favorites for Best Player Award

While Christophe Galtier won't bring any fresh trophies to the Parisian shelves on a personal basis after getting snubbed from the UNFP Awards, that is of no concern for the club from the French capital as multiple players have the team's back covered.

Kylian Mbappe (currently the top goalscorer) and Lionel Messi (top assister) will contend for the Best Player award

Mbappe, at the top of the Ligue 1 scorer rankings (26 goals), could be crowned for the fourth consecutive time. Messi (15 assists) is playing for his first-ever such award since he arrived in Paris nearly two years ago. They are joined by Lens' Lois Openda and Seko Fofana, as well as Lille's Jonathan David. Notable absentees are Olympique Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette and Olympique Marseille's Alexis Sanchez.

Gigio Donnarumma and Nuno Mendes, also nominated

Gianluigi Donnarumma could also get an award as he's been nominated for the Best Goalkeeper Award. The Italian is in competition with Brice Samba (RC Lens), Anthony Lopes (OL), Pau Lopez (OM), and Lucas Chevalier (LOSC).

Finally, Nuno Mendes could win the trophy for the Best Young Player. The Portuguese left-back will have to beat Bardley Barcola (OL), Eliesse Ben Seghir (Monaco), Rayan Cherki (OL), and Elye Wahi (Montpellier).