The Premier League title has long since been won and the battle to avoid relegation was also decided weeks ago, leaving the fight to qualify for European football in 2025-26 as the major outstanding issue of this season.
As the 20 clubs of the domestic top-flight prepare to wrap up their league campaigns over the next week, including Sunday’s 10-game final day, The Athletic’s team of experts have been voting in our annual end-of-season awards. These cover the Premier League, the Championship and also the big competitions in Europe.
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We have done the same for women’s football — you can find out about them here.
But without further ado, let’s reveal the winners in the men’s game…
Premier League Player of the Season: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah set standards nobody could get close to as he propelled Liverpool to the title.
The prolific Egyptian flourished under new head coach Arne Slot, breaking the record for most goal involvements in a 38-game Premier League season (46 and counting). The previous best was 44, achieved by Thierry Henry of Arsenal (2002-03) and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (2022-23).
Salah, who is also on the brink of winning his fourth Premier League Golden Boot in eight seasons as the division’s top scorer, has tormented top-flight defenders. As well as netting 28 league goals, he has also been the champions’ most creative force with 18 league assists.
Across all competitions this season, he has 33 goals and 23 assists in 51 appearances — climbing to third place on the club’s all-time scoring list with 244. He’s signed a new contract to replace the one that was expiring this summer too, so Premier League defenders face having to deal with him for two more years.
James Pearce
Premier League Young Player of the Season: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Morgan Rogers is a unique footballer. He is nimble and fleet of foot, but is seemingly built of concrete.
His physicality has created a rare type of attacker — a brilliant ball-carrier who is hardly ever outmuscled. Combine all of this with a developed end-product and you get a 22-year-old who is a critical cog in manager Unai Emery’s Aston Villa system.
Few players enjoy a rise as swift or sharp as Rogers’ has been, going from a so-so midfielder at Middlesbrough in the second-tier Championship and during a string of previous EFL loans, to an England international and elite playmaker in less than 18 months.
Jacob Tanswell
This award was voted for by The Athletic’s subscribers.
Premier League Manager of the Season: Nuno Espirito Santo (Nottingham Forest)
There are a few managers who have earned their place in Nottingham Forest history by inspiring truly remarkable transformations in the club’s fortunes. Brian Clough took Forest up from the second tier in 1978 and over the next three seasons made them not just domestic champions but kings of Europe — twice, Frank Clark followed another top-flight promotion in the early 1990s by swiftly earning UEFA Cup qualification and Steve Cooper took over a team fighting relegation to the third tier in September 2021 and within nine months had the club back in the Premier League after 23 years away.
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With the job he has done at the City Ground since replacing Cooper in December 2023, Nuno Espirito Santo has more than earned his place among that group.
Forest spent the previous two seasons fighting against relegation. Many pundits predicted back in August that it would be the same story again. But Nuno has proved Forest’s doubters wrong.
There’s been a battle alright, but of a much more enjoyable kind for the team and their fans.
After they climbed to third in the table before Christmas, it seemed Forest were on course for a top-five finish and Champions League place. While they might have stuttered slightly over the race’s final furlong, they have still qualified for Europe for the first time in three decades and could still cross the line in the top five to return to the continent’s elite they conquered under Clough.
Nuno has given Forest an identity again, a mentality that has seen them beat Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Manchester United (twice) this season. He has allowed their fans to dare to dream that nothing is impossible.
Paul Taylor
Premier League Team of the Season
Nottingham Forest spent a lot of time and money trying to find a reliable goalkeeper, and in 2024 winter-window buy Matz Sels they finally found their man. No Premier League keeper has more clean sheets this season than his 13 and few, if any, have been as important to their team.
Champions Liverpool provide 50 per cent of our all-star team’s back four. The departing Trent Alexander-Arnold added six more assists to his Premier League total, while his Anfield captain Virgil van Dijk is the league’s top-goalscoring central defender (25) since he came to the English top flight with Southampton in 2015. Talking of goals, Arsenal’s set-piece devourer Gabriel retains his position from last year’s XI, with Bournemouth’s overlapping-run merchant Milos Kerkez completing the quartet.
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Arsenal are represented in our midfield three too, with the increasingly influential Declan Rice bouncing back from that much-debated red card against Brighton in August to dominate games on both the domestic and European stages. Meanwhile, Liverpool provide the incredibly consistent Alexis Mac Allister (five goals and five assists in his first Premier League season for the club, and now the same again in year two) and Ryan Gravenberch, whose conversion by new head coach Arne Slot into a No 6 was one of the tactical shifts of the campaign.
Up front, we have Salah, a player who must now own more records to do with scoring and/or assisting than most other footballers have actual goals. The Egyptian is joined by Alexander Isak — just the third Newcastle player to hit 10+ goals both home and away in the same Premier League season — and Chris Wood, who after a sensational season with Forest (20 league goals so far) is now the record Premier League goalscorer for both them and Burnley. And if that doesn’t earn you a spot in a team of the season, then what does?
Duncan Alexander
Premier League Goal of the Season: Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion vs Chelsea)
Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen deserves a mention for the pinpoint accuracy of his long-range assist, but what Kaoru Mitoma did after that was exceptional. High-level technique and composure rolled into one.
To control a ball before it bounced, arriving over his head when running at speed, was an outstanding piece of skill. And he still had a lot to do, drifting inside his marker Trevoh Chalobah and finishing with precision past goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen.
Three seconds of pure class from the first touch to the last.
Andy Naylor
Insiders’ Signing of the Season: Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth)
A Premier League debut season so good, it will end with a transfer to Real Madrid. That says everything you need to know about how impressive Dean Huijsen has been for Bournemouth since joining from Juventus for €15million (£12.6m/$16.8m at current rates) last July.
The 20-year-old Dutch-born centre-back has been integral to their eye-catching season and was recognised at international level when he made his Spain debut in March.
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His performances made him one of Europe’s most sought-after young players. Madrid moved quickly to buy him, completing a £50m deal on Saturday.
John Stanton
This award was voted for by members of The Athletic’s Insiders WhatsApp group. You can find out more here.
Alternative Premier League Team of the Season
What about a team of the season excluding the predictable likes of Salah, Rice, Van Dijk and company?
We set our data and tactics experts the task of coming up with an XI of players who do not quite get the acclaim of some of the Premier League’s bigger-name players but who have had standout campaigns nonetheless.
The side they came up with is shown in the graphic above, but we felt they needed more space to explain these selections — so please read the detailed thinking in this article.
Mark Carey, Liam Tharme and Anantaajith Raghuraman
Championship Player of the Season: James Trafford (Burnley)
Rewind to the closing stages of 2023-24, and James Trafford had been dropped from Burnley’s starting XI en route to their second relegation from the Premier League in three seasons.
But new head coach Scott Parker reinstated Trafford as their No 1 last summer, and he has more than repaid that faith with a record-breaking campaign. The 22-year-old conceded only 16 goals in 45 appearances, keeping 29 clean sheets to help Burnley clinch automatic promotion back to the Premier League, also for the second time in three seasons.
Protected by the excellent centre-back pairing of CJ Egan-Riley and Maxime Esteve, Trafford was the final wall teams struggled to penetrate.
His individual season highlight came when he saved two late penalties in the same game against promotion rivals Sunderland in January.
Andy Jones
Championship Team of the Season
Looking at Burnley’s defensive record this season, with only 16 goals conceded, it is a tad harsh that not all of their back five have been chosen here. The core of their automatically-promoted side have made the cut, though. Trafford’s record 29 clean sheets means he was a nailed-on selection, as were central defender Esteve and 18-goal midfielder Josh Brownhill.
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Joe Rodon was also a standout for title-winners Leeds at the back, while their flying full-backs Jayden Bogle and Junior Firpo get the nod, too.
Gustavo Hamer, the official Championship player of the season, has been a class act for Sheffield United and Jobe Bellingham has shown he can provide star quality at any given moment. Those two are set to meet in the play-off final on Saturday.
Daniel James and the division’s top scorer Joel Piroe round off a quintet of Leeds players and are joined in attack by 15-goal USMNT forward Josh Sargent, who has had a remarkable campaign considering his Norwich City side finished in the bottom half of the table. Sargent’s partner-in-crime, 18-goal Borja Sainz, can count himself unlucky that he has missed out.
Rich Amofa
European Men’s Player of the Season: Raphinha (Barcelona)
Raphinha is one of the feel-good stories of the season in world football.
He was a sort of Brazilian journeyman in the European game; a player who had spent six years in the shirts of Vitoria Guimaraes and Sporting CP in Portugal, Rennes in France and Leeds United in England before getting his dream move to Barcelona in 2022. That transfer to Camp Nou did not seem to work initially, to the point he was on Barca’s potential departure list last summer, when they tried to sign Athletic Club’s Nico Williams, who had just helped Spain win the European Championship, to start in his place.
But now here we are, admiring the performance of a player who has been devastating this season, scoring 34 goals and providing 22 assists across 54 appearances in all competitions. Raphinha also equalled the record for most goal involvements in a Champions League season by a Barcelona player (19, by Lionel Messi in 2011-2012).
A world star, but also a grafter, the 28-year-old has not just been part of the most prolific forward line in Europe but an example of how to play off the ball.
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A crucial meeting with new head coach Hansi Flick turned his mind away from leaving the club to play in Saudi Arabia. He wanted to give himself one last chance with Barca — and has ended up starring in a season for the ages for the Catalan club.
Pol Ballus
European Men’s Young Player of the Season: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
Labelling Lamine Yamal the best young player of this season may even be an understatement at this point. His breakout seemed inevitable a while ago, but the way he’s rocketed to worldwide stardom has defied even the most optimistic forecast.
Yamal has been the biggest source of talent and creativity in one of the teams of the season. Seventeen goals and 20 assists in 52 appearances across all competitions speak to his starring role for Barcelona, but it is the fact he has thrived on the biggest stage that has made his 2024-25 campaign particularly remarkable.
His Champions League semi-final performances against Inter will go down in the history books, even though Barca went out (just), and he has made the difference in every Clasico he has played in this season, all four of them.
Inter manager Simone Inzaghi described the 17-year-old as a talent you see “once in 50 years”.
The best young player of the season with no question — and it’s a category he will surely outgrow sooner rather than later.
Pol Ballus
European Men’s Manager of the Season: Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
The problem with being Paris Saint-Germain’s manager is that winning the French title is almost taken for granted — your success or failure is judged solely on Champions League performance. And while PSG have one more game to win before they can claim to have surpassed their 2019-20 efforts in that competition — when they got to the final but then lost against Bayern Munich — they have been hugely impressive.
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A team dramatically more cohesive without their ‘Tackle back? Me?’ superstar attackers of old, Luis Enrique has largely worked with his tried-and-tested 4-3-3 system, and has brought the best out of Ousmane Dembele in a new centre-forward role.
Capable of pressing intensely, dominating possession and breaking at speed, PSG are perhaps the most complete in Europe this season.
Michael Cox
European Men’s Team of the Season
This is inevitably an XI dominated by the four Champions League semi-finalists plus two Liverpool players who have starred in their Premier League title win, but Thibaut Courtois sneaks in despite Real Madrid having what is, for them, an underwhelming campaign.
Perhaps of particular note is Dembele’s inclusion, and his position as a centre-forward, having previously been considered a winger. In Champions League knockout-phase wins over Liverpool and Arsenal, he showed great ability to come short between the lines to link the play.
If this side ever actually took to the field together, Salah and Raphinha would presumably benefit from him dragging centre-backs into midfield and creating space in behind for them to run into.
Michael Cox
La Liga Player of the Season: Pedri (Barcelona)
Pedri makes the whole Barcelona team tick from his deep playmaking role — his passing regularly cuts open defences and creates chances for his attacking team-mates, while he also protects the defence by recovering possession more than anyone in La Liga. Still just 22, he is already a complete midfielder and has been by far the most influential player in Spain’s top division this season.
Dermot Corrigan
La Liga Team of the Season
Joan Garcia has shown spectacular reflexes and agility in his first full top-flight season. Oscar Mingueza and Sergi Cardona have mixed athleticism and end-product. Dani Vivian has been a rock for Athletic Club. Inigo Martinez ran Barcelona’s thrilling offside trap with intelligence and bravery.
Pedri has been the key to Barca’s tremendous season, directing games from the centre of the park. Federico Valverde has held the entire Madrid team together at times, while Isco’s creativity and charisma have made Real Betis a joy to watch.
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Yamal and Raphinha have been on fire all year down Barcelona’s wings, and former Newcastle United and Leicester City striker Ayoze Perez’s 19 goals, from an expected goals (xG) tally of 12.7, mean he has been a much more efficient finisher than either Robert Lewandowski or Kylian Mbappe.
Dermot Corrigan
Serie A Player of the Season: Moise Kean (Fiorentina)
Usually, I’d pick a player from the champions. But given the title race is going down to the wire, here’s a compromise.
Moise Kean made the right choice in moving to Fiorentina from Juventus last summer. The 25-year-old Italy international has matured, been consistent and is fulfilling his potential. The numbers don’t lie: 27 goals for club and country, Kean has made his mark in big games for both.
James Horncastle
Serie A Team of the Season
So I’ve chosen to reward Bologna for backing up what they did last season in finishing fifth to qualify for the Champions League. Ordinarily, these slots would be taken by Atalanta players.
The goalkeeper position was super-competitive and could have gone to Vanja Milinkovic-Savic of Torino or Fiorentina’s David de Gea instead. I should have a Napoli centre-back in my back line, while my only regret in midfield is the absence of Atalanta’s Ederson.
Up front, I know what you’re thinking; three strikers, James? Where are the wingers? I think the centre-forwards were the better, more consistent class in the final third. Bear with me on Romelu Lukaku. Try to think of him as a No 10. He has 10 assists in Serie A this season and his relationship with Scott McTominay has been key to Napoli’s title challenge. Also, Kean and Marcus Thuram could use him as a bounce board.
Honourable mentions for a few players who were great for half the season: Nuno Tavares, Christian Pulisic and big-game Denzel Dumfries.
James Horncastle
Bundesliga Player of the Season: Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)
Seventeen goals and 18 assists, but also so much else. Michael Olise arrived from Crystal Palace of the Premier League for a big fee, but with nobody expecting he could become a talisman within a single season. But that’s what he has been. A source of goals, creativity and thrust, certainly, but also a difference-maker who has significantly evolved Bayern Munich’s attacking threat.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Bundesliga Team of the Season
A tricky selection, because this has been a very bitty Bundesliga season, and many of the players included here have played well during rich periods, rather than across the whole thing. Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz and Dayot Upamecano all lost significant time to injury, too, which affected their statistics and even the memory of just how good they were.
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Among the less-familiar players, Kaishu Sano has been a wonderful surprise, bringing relentless tenacity — and skill — to the base of Mainz’s midfield. Alongside him, for their team and ours, Nadiem Amiri’s resurgence was a brilliant story as his fine form took him all the way back into the Germany squad after not being called up since 2020.
Hauke Wahl has been the big block of granite at the heart of St Pauli’s survival. They have stayed up following last season’s promotion because of their excellent defensive record and he was one of the constants in their back line as it navigated all sorts of injury issues.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
