French winger Michael Olise of German club Bayern Munich was named Best French Professional Player Abroad at the 34th Union Nationale des Joueurs Professionnels (UNFP) awards ceremony, held Monday evening at an historic palace in Paris.
Olise received the award in recognition of his outstanding season with Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions this campaign, who reached the Champions League semi-finals and are set to face Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal final.
"I'm very honored by this achievement and extremely happy," Olise said after receiving the award. "Thank you to my teammates. I'm looking forward to giving my all with the French national team this summer to raise my country's name high in the World Cup competition."
At the same ceremony, Désiré Doué of Paris Saint-Germain, who recently celebrated his 100th match for the club, won Best Young Player for the second consecutive year.
Doué joked after receiving the award that he did his utmost to help his brother Guela Doué, the left-back for Strasbourg and one of his competitors for the prize.
Robin Risser (21), goalkeeper for Lens, was named Best Goalkeeper in Ligue 1 this season, while his coach Pierre Sage won Best Manager in Ligue 1, beating Louis Enríque (PSG), Paulo Fonseca (Olympique Lyonnais), and Bruno Génésio (Rennes).
Also at the ceremony, retired Ivorian star Didier Drogba, former striker for Marseille, Guingamp, and Le Mans, received Best French Citizen award in recognition of his foundation's work supporting underserved communities.
