Best-player and top-scorer favourites across Europe’s main leagues
With the arrival of August, all football fans are already turning their eyes to the start of the European season. The five main leagues, from England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy, are about to begin with several signings of World Cup standouts and also established players who changed teams during the transfer window. With that, expectations begin as to who will be the standouts of each championship. Here, readers will find a summary of research of who could be the best players in these leagues, considering forecasts from platforms like 1xBet Ghana and broader betting-market expectations.
The predictions consider several factors: the physical form of each athlete, the morale with which they will arrive at the season after good or bad performance at the World Cup, the teammates who can highlight their style of play, and the team’s cohesion, since the collective always enhances individual talents.
Premier League
The Premier League had Bruno Fernandes, of Manchester United, elected the best player of the last season, even though the team did not fight for the title. This shows that the EPL allows individual standouts that go beyond the top teams. The main example is Arsenal, which even being the current champion and the main title contender again, does not have any player of enormous prominence like some of its rivals, since the team’s foundation is in collective football. Even so, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, who form the backbone of the team in midfield, can put themselves forward as the competition’s star.
At Manchester City, two players appear as contenders for the title of best player: Erling Haaland, who always presents impressive numbers, and Antoine Semenyo, who even arriving at the team in the middle of last season already made all the difference and was one of the candidates for Premier League star. Depending on adaptation to the new team, Elliott Anderson could also surprise, carrying the weight of being one of the most expensive signings of the window.
Despite spending heavily on signings in the last window, Liverpool fell far short of having individual standouts. However, if the stars brought in during the last window adapt better to the style of play, Florian Wirtz could achieve the necessary prominence, but for that the German needs to prove himself. If the Reds are crowned champions, Szoboszlai could also appear among the league’s best players. Chelsea has a very strong midfield, and if successful, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo could place themselves among the candidates for the individual award.
The fight for top scorer, meanwhile, seems much more restricted. It’s difficult to imagine another major candidate besides Erling Haaland, who is top scorer in practically everything he competes in. Last season, however, a big surprise almost broke that trend, as Brazilian Igor Thiago, of Brentford, scored 22 goals and finished just four goals behind the Norwegian.
Among the candidates for breakthrough player of the championship, Bouaddi could become one of the names to follow if his move to Manchester City is completed and his role grows during the season. He has already proven at the World Cup that even at 18 years old he already shows enormous maturity and can stand out at the highest level. Estêvão, of Chelsea, also appears among the favorites for the award. In betting-market terms, the Premier League looks more open for best-player predictions than for top-scorer forecasts, where Haaland remains the clearest reference point.
Bundesliga
It’s hard to imagine a different situation in the Bundesliga than a complete dominance by Bayern Munich. That’s why anyone who might use an access point like the 1xBet login may see that the odds for the Bavarian team’s title are just 1.15. And no wonder: last season, the team gave opponents no chance at all, scoring 122 goals, 52 more than second-place Borussia Dortmund. For this reason, all the candidates for best player and top scorer of the German league are from Bayern.
Just as the title will hardly go to another team, it will also be a surprise if the position of best player doesn’t stay between Harry Kane and Olise. The two were, before the World Cup, considered contenders for the title of Best Player in the World in 2026. They are still candidates, but the fact that both were eliminated in the World Cup semifinals could weigh against them. If the title of best player should remain contested between the two, the top scorer position will hardly leave Harry Kane’s hands. In 2025/2026, he scored 36 goals, 15 more than second-place Deniz Undav, of Stuttgart. Undav, in fact, is one of the main candidates for best player of the league outside of Bayern.
Italian Serie A
With Internazionale as champion last season, Federico Dimarco was elected the competition’s best player. However, with the great balance of the competition, he will hardly win this title again. Within Internazionale itself, striker Lautaro Martínez is even more favored to be elected Serie A’s best player.
A strong candidate for the MVP position is not on any of the country’s giant teams. It’s Argentine Nico Paz, who even playing for Como was considered the best midfielder of the last Serie A edition. After all, he carried the team to a historic fourth place, securing a spot in the 2026/2027 Champions League for the newly promoted team. Even being one of the most sought-after players in the world, everything indicates he will remain with the team.
From Napoli, which in recent years has established itself as one of the two teams to beat in Serie A, come other major candidates for the title of best player. The main standout is Scotsman Scott McTominay, who has already been decisive for the Neapolitan team. If Juventus is successful in the championship, Turkish player Yildiz could also place himself among the candidates for the MVP title.
The fight for top scorer, meanwhile, seems a bit less contested. After the transfer of Napoli’s Lukaku to Fenerbahçe in Turkey, Internazionale’s Lautaro Martínez is now the clear favorite to lead the Serie A scoring race.
Spanish La Liga
The Spanish La Liga certainly has one of the biggest disputes for the position of best player. After all, Real Madrid and Barcelona have several of the biggest players in the world today. Thus, the individual title is very likely to go to one of the champion team’s stars, always keeping in mind that Atlético de Madrid could once again surprise and place itself in the fight among the giants. The list of MVP candidates is extensive:
- Vinícius Júnior – Real Madrid
- Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid
- Mbappé – Real Madrid
- Cucurella – Real Madrid
- Raphinha – Barcelona
- Lamine Yamal – Barcelona
- Julián Álvarez – Atlético de Madrid
The title race will certainly depend on how José Mourinho manages to handle Real Madrid’s squad, which last year faced several crises and has now gained many top-tier reinforcements from world football. Barcelona, meanwhile, is banking on the continuity of the successful work of the last two seasons.
It’s worth remembering that another player who has every chance of competing for the title of best La Liga player is midfielder Rodri, who has already been elected best in the world and won the top individual award at the World Cup. He is being fought over by Real Madrid and Barcelona, so he will probably compete in the league for one of the two rivals.
The favorite for La Liga’s top scorer, meanwhile, is once again Mbappé. The player is proving to be an increasingly prolific scorer and has a high chance of winning this individual award. Two major competitors are Vinícius Júnior and Lamine Yamal. This makes La Liga one of the most attractive leagues for comparing individual-award and top-scorer markets before the season settles.
France Ligue 1
France’s Ligue 1 will go through a situation similar to that of the Bundesliga. It’s extremely likely that Paris Saint-Germain will once again dominate the competition, and so the fight for the title of the championship’s best player will stay within the team itself. However, while the dispute within Bayern is limited to two players, at PSG the fight is much wider, and several athletes appear with a chance of being the season’s MVP, largely due to Luis Enrique’s collective style of play, which greatly enhances all the individual talents.
Thus, it’s possible to imagine that among Dembélé, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, Hakimi, Doué, Barcola and Kvaratskhelia, any of them could take the title of the league’s best player. Evidently, Dembélé is the favorite, since he was elected best in the world in 2025 and is a more straightforward choice for standing out in attack. The great proof that PSG’s leading role is very much shared is that no player from the team ranked among the top 5 scorers of the last season.
Other teams also bring good individual standouts, but since the title tends to stay with PSG, there is little chance of them being elected the competition’s MVP. Among them is Folarin Balogun, of Monaco, a striker who had a great World Cup for the United States. Brazilian Igor Paixão, of Olympique de Marseille, could also be a surprise in the French league.
Ligue 1’s top scorer race will also have a great contest and tends to be surprising. Last season, the title went to Esteban Lepaul, of Stade Rennais, followed by Panichelli, of Strasbourg, and Balogun, of Monaco. The three are likely to remain with their teams and could once again fight for the position of the competition’s top scorer, as could all of Paris Saint-Germain’s attacking players. In betting terms, Ligue 1 may therefore separate the MVP market, dominated by PSG names, from a more unpredictable top-scorer race.
