Paulo Fonseca Nominated for Ligue 1 Manager of the Season
PSG's Fonseca and Neves earn Ligue 1 award nominations ahead of May 11 ceremony
Now in his second full season at the helm of the French club—having arrived midway through last campaign—53-year-old Fonseca has once again been shortlisted among the top five candidates, as he was twice before during his tenure at Lille between 2022 and 2024.
The former FC Porto and Roma manager faces competition from Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain), Bruno Génésio (Lille), Olivier Pantaloni (Lorient), and Pierre Sage (RC Lens) in a season where his team currently sits third in the Ligue 1 standings with 57 points, trailing second-placed Lens (63) and runaway leaders PSG (69).
Fonseca began this campaign still serving a nine-month suspension, which barred him from the Lyon bench between March and December of last year.
Who Else Is Nominated?
Portuguese midfielder João Neves of Paris Saint-Germain is in the running for the league's Best Young Player award, competing against teammates Désiré Doué and Zaire-Emery, as well as Strasbourg's Valentín Barco and Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi.
Fellow compatriots Vitinha and Nuno Mendes, also at PSG, are vying for the Player of the Season title alongside their teammate Ousmane Dembélé—the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner—as well as Florian Thauvin (Lens) and Mason Greenwood (Marseille).
The winners will be announced at the UNFP Trophies ceremony on May 11.
