While Italian midfielder Marco Verratti is the record holder for wins in the Trophée des Champions, his now ex-PSG teammate Ángel Di María and former Bordeaux and Lyon player Yoann Gourcuff are the only two players to have been voted Man of the Match twice in the season curtain-raiser. Ángel Di María was named best player of the Trophée des Champions in 2016 and 2018, while playmaker Gourcuff came out on top in 2009 and 2012.

The latest player to add his name to the star-studded list is none other than Lionel Messi, who was rewarded on Sunday after PSG's 4-0 win over FC Nantes in Tel Aviv. The Argentine scored the opening goal in the first official match of the 2022-23 season.

John Carew, the first

Awarded for the first time in 2005 to OL's Norwegian striker John Carew, the Trophée des Champions Man of the Match award has gone to a French player six times and to a foreign player 11 times. The last Frenchman to win it? Paris striker Kylian Mbappé, who won in 2019. Since the award was instituted, it has gone to a PSG player seven times, an OL player four times, a Bordeaux player three times, an OM player twice and a LOSC player once.

Trophée des Champions Man of the Match winners:
2005: John Carew (Olympique Lyonnais)
2006: Jérémy Toulalan (Olympique Lyonnais)
2007: Sidney Govou (Olympique Lyonnais)
2008: Marouane Chamakh (Girondins de Bordeaux)
2009: Yoann Gourcuff (Girondins de Bordeaux)
2010: Steve Mandanda (Olympique de Marseille)
2011: André Ayew (Olympique de Marseille)
2012: Yoann Gourcuff (Olympique Lyonnais)
2013: André Poko (Girondins de Bordeaux)
2014: Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain)
2015: Serge Aurier (Paris Saint-Germain)
2016: Ángel Di María (Paris Saint-Germain)
2017: Daniel Alves (Paris Saint-Germain)
2018: Ángel Di María (Paris Saint-Germain)
2019: Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain)
2020: Mauro Icardi (Paris Saint-Germain)
2021: Xeka (LOSC Lille)
2022: Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)

>> PREVIEW: In-form PSG clash with Nantes in Tel Aviv

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