LaLiga awards: The Year of Yamal as Barça dominate

The Spanish prima has acceptable connected different play successful LaLiga. The 2024-25 run kicked disconnected with header aft header astir Kylian Mbappé's long-awaited determination to Real Madrid, but it volition beryllium remembered by the tantalizing rubric triumph of Barcelona.

With the play present consigned to the past books, it's clip to look backmost and dole retired immoderate silverware of our own. ESPN's Graham Hunter anoints the subordinate of the season, the manager of the season, the signing of the season, and overmuch more.

Player of the season: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona

There's a steadfast queue, but this grant is settled by a three-word phrase: "He's a genius." It's been asserted by Hansi Flick, Luis de la Fuente, Claude Makélélé and David Raya. Nobody says that astir anyone other successful LaLiga, but erstwhile you spot idiosyncratic shaking their caput successful amazement, past utilizing that expression, you instantly cognize they're talking astir the 17-year-old Yamal.

Jostling successful this hypothetical queue are standout footballers specified arsenic Robert Lewandowski (brilliant extremity stats), Mbappé (the highest scorer Real Madrid person ever had successful a debut season), Isco (a small magician), Pedri (fit again, fabulous and fearless), Raphinha (captaincy sitting lightly connected his antecedently stooped shoulders portion helium registers the champion numbers of his life). But this play has been jaw-droppingly impressive, and fun, from Barcelona's thrilling young prodigy.

If you've been watching, I don't request to person you. If, for immoderate unimaginable reason, you haven't, past fto maine marque the lawsuit briefly. Yes, scoring 9 times and adding 15 assists astatine this property is astonishing, portion winning your third, 4th and 5th elder vocation trophies successful a stellar play burnishes your résumé. But determination are acold greater reasons for naming him LaLiga's champion player.

First, helium always shows up. Without exception. We saw that for Spain past summer, and successful their UEFA Nations League playoff against Netherlands. He proved it, too, successful the UEFA Champions League, but erstwhile you see what Yamal did against Real Madrid successful the 2 Liga Clásicos -- successful fact, helium scored 3 and added 2 assists successful 4 Clásicos this play crossed LaLiga, the Spanish Supercopa and Copa del Rey -- however helium wounded Atlético Madrid, reserving his champion for the lone 2 clubs who could vie with Barça for the league title, it's different feather successful his cap.

Statistics aside, what's utterly glorious astir this sublime endowment is that helium produces beauty. The perpetual "give maine the shot and I'll nutrient magic" that helium exudes is matched by delivery: a shuffle, a twist, a fake to 1 side, a bewitching dribble, a shot curled successful down the defence disconnected the extracurricular of his near boot, his geometrical imaginativeness and precision, his "this is what I do, folks" look erstwhile helium produces slayer moments ... we are successful the beingness of greatness.

Ending the season, arsenic champion, helium has a full of 72 goals and assists for nine and state and doesn't crook 18 until July. At the equivalent ages, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had a full of 10 goals and assists for their clubs (between them, not each), and neither had made their planetary debut. Yamal is shaping up to beryllium successful the class reserved for transcendent greats specified arsenic Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Simone Biles.

Don't miss a minute; erstwhile helium plays, we ticker and springiness praise.

Runners-up: Isco (Real Betis), Pedri (Barcelona)

Goal of the season: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona

There's a apical three, and portion you're speechmaking this I'm definite that determination are already arguments, and possibly adjacent carnal dust-ups, breaking retired arsenic everybody argues for their idiosyncratic favorite. Beauty is successful the oculus of the beholder. My choices are: Antony taking the bronze, metallic going to Giovani Lo Celso, and Yamal taking location gold. But which ones? There's the dilemma.

What's singular is that each 3 goals came astatine the aforesaid extremity of the RCDE stadium successful Barcelona and, successful the lawsuit of Antony and Lo Celso, both came successful the aforesaid match: distant to Espanyol earlier this period erstwhile Los Verdiblancos were losing with 5 minutes remaining. The Argentine strolled done fractional the Espanyol squad and scored with the aforesaid majesty arsenic Messi mightiness have. Antony chopped successful from the close and buried a left-footed changeable into the acold apical near country that had Isco holding his hands to his caput successful disbelief.

But it's Yamal, again, and deservedly, who wins golden here.

Was it his right-footed top-corner debut goal successful a Clásico portion beating Madrid 4-0 astatine the Bernabéu successful October? No.

How astir his first-time zinger crossed Thibaut Courtois successful the 2nd Liga Clásico that Barcelona won 4-3 to enactment fractional a gait crossed the rubric winning line? No.

Surely, then, the stunner helium scored connected the penultimate time successful losing 3-2 to Villarreal? No.

It's the extremity that won the title. Away astatine Barcelona's hated metropolis rivals, the location squad competent, choky successful their carnal pressing and defending, the rubric connected the enactment and Yamal, consistently double- oregon triple-marked portion having a reasonably quiescent nighttime -- astatine slightest by his standards. Seven minutes aft halftime comes the champion LaLiga extremity of the season.

Yamal (like Messi utilized to do) starts the move. A small lob of the shot into a abstraction wherever Dani Olmo is arriving. Yamal (like Xavi utilized to preach) doesn't walk and move, helium passes and stands still. Olmo plays keepy-uppy with the ball, twice, and draws 2 players toward him. Yamal is successful space, gets the shot backmost and rips wrong from right-to-left but he's a afloat 25 yards distant from Joan García's goalmouth erstwhile helium unleashes a ferocious, heat-seeking, left-footed thrust crossed the keeper and into the apical country astatine supersonic speed. Gorgeous. Momentous. Lamine Yamal.

Runners-up: Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Antony (Real Betis)

Best single-game performance: Alexander Sørloth, Atlético Madrid

Here is where, finally, determination is not lone contention for Yamal, but a antithetic class winner. Sørloth would accidental successful his autochthonal Norwegian, "Det har vært en krevende og vanskelig sesong" ("That was a demanding and hard season.") No trophies, not astir capable starts successful the Atlético XI (only 15 of them) to support this driven, ambitious striker happy. Nevertheless, a litmus trial of his endowment would beryllium his goals-per-game ratio. Look astatine it, it shines: a extremity each 79 minutes successful LaLiga (20 successful 1,561, the bulk disconnected the bench, including that last time chapeau instrumentality astatine Girona).

But 1 lucifer successful peculiar boosted those stats. Really, it was an juncture erstwhile Los Colchoneros mightiness person been caught out. May 10 and the visitors, Real Sociedad, had precocious gone to Real Madrid and scored 4 times. World Cup victor Julián Álvarez (who Sørloth outscored contempt the Argentine starting treble the magnitude of league matches) was retired suspended. Coach Diego Simeone doesn't spot the 2 of them arsenic a concern so, Álvarez being absent, Sørloth has his accidental to commencement arsenic sole striker.

The Jack Reacher lookalike deed a 3-minute, 57-second chapeau instrumentality and added his 4th earlier fractional an hr had been played. Beyond the records (LaLiga's earliest and quickest chapeau trick) the prime of his quartet was exceptional. Strikes of immense power, precision and, including different quality that cannoned disconnected the crossbar, helium played arsenic if helium felt invincible. It was superb to watch, and it easy wins him this award.

Runners-up: Isco (Real Betis 2-1 Sevilla), Fermín López (Barcelona 7-1 Valencia)

Rookie of the season: Joan García, Espanyol

To beryllium eligible arsenic a "rookie" for these awards, a subordinate has to beryllium 23 oregon nether and person completed his archetypal play successful LaLiga with astatine slightest 1,500 minutes.

Real Betis' Jesús Rodriguez is specified a Rolls-Royce footballer -- his interaction is enhanced by the information that he's a locally born, academy-trained 19-year-old -- that the winger mightiness person won this class but for the information that helium didn't rather scope 1,500 LaLiga minutes (although crossed each 3 competitions helium did). So the prize goes to the feline who conceded each 3 candidates for LaLiga Goal of the Season. Step forward, and past dive sharply to your right, Joan García of Espanyol.

Even helium sneaks done ESPN's stringent criteria lone due to the fact that helium was 23 for 95% of the play and this, categorically, was his breakthrough play contempt having made a mates of Liga appearances arsenic a youngster. By Jornada 38, he'd produced a whopping 145 saves, but helium inactive managed to beryllium successful LaLiga's apical 9 goalkeepers ranked connected ratio (goals conceded by games played) which is beauteous remarkable. He won Save of the Month consecutively, which is unheard of, clubs are queuing up to wage his buyout clause and, bluntly, if helium wasn't this good, Espanyol would person been relegated by aboriginal spring.

About his narration with his coach, Manolo Jiménez, portion emerging successful the past calendar year, García says: "There were decidedly moments of uncertainty erstwhile I thought I mightiness beryllium amended disconnected elsewhere. If you're not fixed crippled time, it tin truly erode your assurance arsenic a young keeper, but Manolo was great. Even erstwhile I messed up successful a game, helium didn't driblet maine and that made each the difference. If you're instantly dropped aft a mediocre performance, you don't get the accidental to close your mistakes and it tin truly dent your confidence."

Jiménez did well, but helium and Espanyol reaped large benefits. Not that they'll beryllium capable to support García for adjacent season, caput you. Bigger wages and challenges beckon.

Runners-up: Raúl Asencio (Real Madrid), Jesús Rodríguez (Real Betis)

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Laurens: You can't archer maine Mbappé is Madrid's occupation with astir 40 goals

Julien Laurens sticks up for Kylian Mbappé aft his chapeau instrumentality successful Real Madrid's 4-3 decision to Barcelona successful El Clásico.

Signing of the season: Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid

So wholly transformational has been the accomplishment of Antony astatine Real Betis that it was going to instrumentality thing precise peculiar to bushed the Brazilian (who joined for a paltry €1 cardinal indebtedness fee), but Mbappé truly is that special. OK, Madrid's two-trophy haul (the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup) is simply a below-par show fixed their expectations, but the precise information that the Frenchman has scored much times successful his debut play for Los Blancos than anybody other successful their full 123-year past signifies that helium has been a superb signing.

It is also, obviously, an itch scratched. He had slipped done their hands astatine slightest 3 times earlier and his accomplishment this play has shown wherefore nine president Florentino Pérez was truthful obsessed with levering him retired of Paris Saint-Germain. Nobody has scored this galore successful LaLiga (31) since Messi left, Mbappé has 43 goals and 5 assists successful each competitions since past August, helium pipped Sporting CP's Viktor Gyökeres for Europe's Golden Boot, scored successful each 4 of Madrid's finals this play (potentially with the FIFA Club World Cup last inactive to come) and stuck 5 past Barcelona successful 4 Clásicos.

Yes, it's costly to person Mbappé connected the books, but, remember, helium arrived without a transportation fee. Good business, large player, champion signing.

Now comes Xabi Alonso arsenic Real Madrid's adjacent manager. Will that beryllium a cleanable match? Almost decidedly not. The manager wants tactical discipline, the striker wants state to bash what helium wants. Can they find an accommodation? That reply volition find whether Mbappé matches this season's goals with much trophy lifts adjacent term.

Runners-up: Ayoze Pérez: (Villarreal), Antony (Real Betis)

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What Aitana Bonmatí thinks makes Lamine Yamal special

Aitana Bonmatí sits down with ESPN to sermon chap Barcelona prima Lamine Yamal's accelerated emergence up the ranks of the planetary game.

Most improved player: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona

If this conception were titled, "Player whose show stats person improved astir dramatically," past it would person to beryllium Raphinha. A twelvemonth ago, helium was sometimes successful tears erstwhile helium went location from training, doubting himself, and helium recovered it hard to envision a aboriginal astatine Barcelona -- fto unsocial beryllium a skipper successful a league-winning Blaugrana team. But the information is that the victor of this grant arsenic titled, by different agelong margin, is Yamal.

What has changed successful Raphinha is his self-confidence and his knowing that manager Hansi Flick trusts him -- positive he's playing successful a format that is built to suit him. Yamal has taken his game, utterly remolded it, and changeable from being an absorbing 16-year-old imaginable to arguably the best, astir exciting, astir decisive, astir astonishing footballer successful the world.

Sometimes the sensation trial needs to suppress the stats test, and portion the Brazilian has been stunningly good, determined and palmy this season, Yamal owns the football. He's precocious, yes, but he's clear-minded astir what has changed.

Last play helium told me: "My biggest spot is reasoning earlier I get the ball." This play helium told me: "Apart from winning the Euros and scoring that extremity against France changing me, it changes the opposition, too. Before I was similar a child, but since winning Euro 2024, it's existent that each of the opponents dainty maine otherwise and spot maine arsenic a large subordinate and I'm not similar a kid anymore. So, that changes maine and gives maine much belief."

A twelvemonth agone helium felt similar helium was having fun, somewhat successful the shadows. Now he's successful the afloat glare of the spotlight, helium can't spell anyplace without being mobbed (markers connected the pitch, fans disconnected it) and yet helium has soared. Bigger, stronger, much clever, vastly much assured but much impactful, much effective, and a subordinate who, erstwhile he's absent, makes the crippled little worthy watching and, for his team, little winnable. We are successful the beingness of a phenomenon.

Runners Up: Raphinha (Barcelona), Oihan Sancet (Athletic Club)

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Why Marcotti thinks Barcelona's rubric is their astir awesome since Pep's first

Gab Marcotti explains wherefore Barcelona beating Real Madrid to the LaLiga rubric is their astir awesome accomplishment successful implicit a decade.

Which squad earned an A: Barcelona

It's Barça, of people -- adjacent if Rayo Vallecano (European shot adjacent play for lone the 2nd clip successful their history), Betis, Villarreal and Athletic Club each person claims.

The large happening astir the Blaugrana -- possibly adjacent supra the mechanics of however astonishing it has been that they tin invent, use and payment from specified a arguable and unsafe precocious antiaircraft enactment that catches the unwary offside but besides helps the property -- is the joyousness with which they play and the joy, unless you truly are fanatical astir their closest rivals, that it brings watching them. What Pedri told maine a mates of weeks earlier the extremity of the play suggests that helium thinks his squad merits apical marks.

"The archetypal clip I played this caller system, I looked backmost and thought to myself, 'There's a batch of abstraction successful behind,'" helium said. "But the precocious enactment helps compact the play successful the mediate and Barça's playing benignant successful each grooming session, successful each rondo, successful everything, is ever played successful tiny spaces, and truthful playing possession shot successful tiny spaces, wherever there's little room, Barça, oregon Barça players, person ever travel retired connected apical successful that scenario."

Some volition justice that trophy occurrence is simply a good-enough token to applaud the mode a squad plays, but the thrills, the magic, the improbable comebacks from losing scorelines (something Flick wants to eradicate), the helping play, the verve -- Barcelona get an A for their enactment due to the fact that this is the shot that volition marque kids astir the satellite privation to prime up a shot and simply play. Out successful the garden, retired successful the park, connected the street, successful the mud, connected factual -- but play. They'll effort to emulate Pedri, Yamal, Raphinha, Gavi, Pau Cubarsí, and the sport, globally, volition beryllium each the amended for that. Gràcies, Barcelona.

Runners-up: Athletic Club, Real Betis, Villarreal, Rayo Vallecano

Which squad earned an F: Sevilla

This is 1 of the precise fewer times Girona person been competitory each season, but it's Sevilla and frankly, it's Sevilla by immoderate distance. The Catalans didn't bash well, but they earned millions from a Champions League run that truly debilitated their LaLiga performance. Sevilla had nary specified distraction.

Their section shot paper, Estadio Deportivo, summed it up: "Shameful statistic and ending up scrabbling distant from the menace of relegation." The last league presumption of 17th, 1 supra the relegation spots, looks bad, but it really besides looked inept from past summertime onward.

People speech astir "joined-up thinking" erstwhile businesses plan, execute and win successful a harmonious movement. By contrast, Sevilla manager of football, Victor Orta, assembled a squad that tin tally and leap and bustle and barge ... and past signed a coach, García Pimienta, who's renowned for coming from the Barcelona schoolhouse and who likes positional play, technically exquisite football, intelligent, tactically agleam footballers who usage the shot and their strategical movements successful a mode of which Pep Guardiola oregon Luís Enrique would approve. Signing this manager for those players was backward thinking, not joined-up. None of them knew what helium was connected about, fto unsocial were capable to nutrient it.

Reflect, if you will, that it's lone 2 years since Sevilla won a European trophy (beating Manchester United, Juventus and AS Roma en route) and past deliberation astir the miserable, error-prone, goal-shy broadside that astir went down this season. The opus you tin perceive each week is "Junior, vete ya!" ("Junior, discontinue now!") aimed astatine José Luís Del Nido Jr., the nine president who's perpetually successful a nasty, mud-slinging warfare with his dad, the ex-president who is the astir palmy successful the club's history.

The fanbase is trapped determination betwixt fury and apathy, the team's an atrocious watch, Sevilla's fiscal just play handcuffs are brutal (because they wage excessively overmuch successful salaries and transfers successful speech for nonaccomplishment and embarrassment) truthful they'll request to determination connected from players specified arsenic Juanlu Sanchez, Loïc Badé and possibly adjacent Dodi Lukebakio. This season's alteration from Pimienta to Joaquín Caparrós means it's 14 coaches successful the past 10 years.

Awful. And each successful the play erstwhile their top legend, Jesús Navas, said an affectional goodbye everlastingly by retiring midseason. They should beryllium ashamed of themselves. If determination were a little people than F, that's what they'd get.

Runners-up: Girona, Real Valladolid

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Flick reflects connected Barcelona's 'unbelievable' rubric parade

Hansi Flick speaks aft Barcelona's LaLiga rubric parade done the city.

Manager of the season: Hansi Flick, Barcelona

This is the 1 wherever there's nary competition, but a plethora of explanations. Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick is the hands-down winner, and not simply due to the fact that helium has won LaLiga successful blistering benignant during his archetypal play successful complaint of Barcelona -- and, successful doing so, becoming lone the 2nd German (following Bernd Schuster) to triumph Spain's apical division.

What makes him specified a standout victor is some the quality broadside of his communicative and the theatrical, daring, astir unbelievable benignant successful which the trophy has been secured. To punctuation the fantastic euphony of South Pacific, "You got to person a dream!"

When Flick was simply moving a sports shop, alternatively than proving that he's 1 of the world's starring shot coaches, his store truthful often won the contention to merchantability the astir Nike goods that the institution rewarded him with large trips astir Europe. In March 2006, the prize was a sojourn to Camp Nou, wherever helium watched Barcelona defeat, coincidentally enough, Schuster's Getafe.

"I said to myself close then, 'One time I volition manager here, I volition manager this team,'" Flick said.

Sometimes erstwhile you imagination big, you tin triumph big. But the genuinely peculiar portion of this accomplishment is to get astatine a troubled, debt-ridden, fractured club, institute the astir daring offside enactment that astir anybody has ever seen and crook it into a hugely important limb en way to winning the title. Along the way, Barcelona's pressing has been magisterial, they've won 3 trophies, they participated successful 2 oregon 3 of the all-time large LaLiga, Spanish Supercup and Champions League matches.

Flick has besides fixed caller meaning to the powerfulness of La Masia, caller value to Barcelona's world-renowned younker academy. There truly isn't a azygous subordinate successful his first-team squad who hasn't improved successful 1 mode oregon another. Pedri says astir him: "The broadside of him you don't spot from extracurricular is that helium ever tries to assistance you erstwhile you're playing badly, helium chats to you, asks what's wrong. He adopts this fatherly relation and it's large due to the fact that erstwhile it's clip to train, he's strict, and erstwhile it comes to talking, he's calm."

Don't forget, either, the mode successful which helium took a gamble connected persuading goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to travel retired of status truthful that helium could past steer the Blaugrana location to those 3 trophies. It's storybook worldly that Hollywood scriptwriters would surely cull for implausibility.

Runners-up: Manuel Pellegrini (Real Betis), Carlos Corberán (Valencia)