UEFA has announced the best player of the first round of the 2025-26 Champions League group stage.
This round saw several outstanding performances, one of which was undoubtedly Kylian Mbappé, who scored two goals in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Marseille at the Santiago Bernabéu.
However, UEFA excluded the Real Madrid star from the announced list of top four players. Marcus Rashford won the Player of the Week award after scoring two stunning goals in Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Newcastle at St. James’ Park.
Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic, who scored both goals in Juventus’ 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund, came in second place, followed by Marcus Thuram, who also scored a brace in Inter’s victory over Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Fourth place went to Sporting Lisbon star Francisco Trincao, who, like the other stars, also scored two goals in the Portuguese club’s 4-1 win over Kairat.
With Mbappé’s absence, UEFA was subjected to fierce criticism on social media, with many believing the Real Madrid star deserved to at least make the list given his outstanding performance against Marseille.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah was left out of the list despite his impressive performance against Atletico Madrid, scoring one goal and assisting another in the Reds’ thrilling 3-2 victory at Anfield.
