GFFN 100 | 10 high-profile players that missed out | OneFootball

The 2024 edition of the GFFN 100 (available for download HERE) has been released with Stade Brestois’ Pierre Lees-Melou crowned Get French Football News‘ Player of the Year. However, there were some big-name absentees from this year’s list.

1. Nuno Mendes – PSG – Age: 22

It wasn’t a fruitful year for the Portugal international, who made just two starts in Ligue 1 last season. Disrupted by injuries, he failed to get into a rhythm and, when on the pitch, he was not as effective as he was during his debut season at Paris Saint-Germain. He has returned this season, however, his influence has been stinted by his new role within the team. Favouring utilising Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes has found himself tucking inside more with the Morocco international given more licence to bomb forward. In 16 appearances in all competitions, he has two goals and two assists. He began to hit a patch of form towards the end of 2024 but it wasn’t enough to make our list this year.

2. Randal Kolo Muani – PSG – Age: 26

It will come as no surprise that Randal Kolo Muani does not feature on this list. The Frenchman, despite netting six goals for Les Bleus in 2024, has had a torrid year at club level. He netted just 12 goals in his debut season at PSG following his €95m move from Eintracht Frankfurt. Without Kylian Mbappé at the club this season and with Gonçalo Ramos injured, Kolo Muani had the chance to cement a place in the side. He did not take it. He has just two goals this season and in recent weeks has seen himself omitted from PSG’s matchday squads entirely. His future seemingly lies far away from the Parc des Princes.

3. Maxence Caqueret – Lyon – Age: 24

It was a strong start to the year for Maxence Caqueret, however, he tailed off considerably. Seen as one of the more bankable assets that Olympique Lyonnais are wishing to offload in order to avoid a punitive relegation to Ligue 2, he has seen his gametime dramatically reduce this season. He has started just six games in Ligue 1 and just one in the UEFA Europa League. The arrival of Jordan Veretout on a ‘joker’ transfer did little to help his case and, playing a bit-part role, Caqueret’s impact at his formative club has waned. He – and Lyon – are in need of a transfer; it is one that would certainly please all parties.

4. Adrien Rabiot – Marseille – Age: 29

Adrien Rabiot certainly wasn’t far away from making the GFFN 100 list this season, however, he just missed out. Arriving at Olympique de Marseille on a free transfer in September, following the expiry of his contract at Juventus, it took the France international time to get up to speed. Without a club, Rabiot also briefly lost his place in the France set-up, a place that he has since regained. He finished 2024 strongly, making his first three goal contributions for Marseille in the final three games before the winter break. Should he pick up where he left off in 2025, there is no doubt that he will feature on next year’s list.

5. Elye Wahi – Marseille – Age: 22

Elye Wahi is yet to build on the promise that made him one of the hottest prospects in Europe when he was at Montpellier HSC. The striker failed to live up to expectations at RC Lens before then sealing a big-money move to Marseille. It is not a move that has revived his career, at least not yet. He has just two goals in his first 13 games for OM and he has lost his place in the starting line-up to Neal Maupay, signed from Everton in order to play a back-up role. Wahi’s struggles mean that the former Brentford striker has become Roberto De Zerbi’s main man up front. It says a lot more about Wahi than it does Maupay, one would argue.

6. Saïd Benrahma – Lyon – Age: 29

Lyon put in a lot of work to get Saïd Benrahma’s move over the line last January, however, just one year later and the Algerian has been sounded out as one of the players that OL are looking to move on this winter. Statistically, his time at Lyon has not been dreadful. In his first six months, he made seven goal contributions in 15 games and this season he has eight goal contributions in 17 games. The numbers are not bad but he has struggled with consistency and has flitted in and out of the side, even missing out on matchday squads on three occasions in Ligue 1 this season. Like Rabiot, Benrahma was not far from making the GFFN 100 list this year, but he narrowly misses out.

7. Terem Moffi – Nice – Age: 25

It has been a tough year for Terem Moffi at OGC Nice. His play style never really suited former manager Francesco Farioli and many of the Nigerian’s strengths were masked in the Italian manager’s restrictive system. It meant that Moffi netted just 11 last season, including five in 2024. The arrival of Franck Haise may have marked a change in fortunes for the striker, however, he was struck down with an ACL injury in pre-season and has not featured since. He will be looking to make a big comeback in 2025 and, under a manager whose play style is more suited to his strengths, he has all the tools to do so.

8. Andy Diouf – Lens – Age: 21

Andy Diouf, a Golden Boy nominee in 2023, has yet to make a big impact since returning to France. He left L’Héxagone to join Basel and it is a move that reaped immediate rewards as he played a starring role in their run deep into the UEFA Europa Conference League back in 2023. His performances earned him a Golden Boy nomination and a move back to France with Lens, but he is yet to settle and isn’t having the same impact as he had in Switzerland. He is, however, now starting more regularly (12 Ligue 1 starts this season) under Will Still and the languid midfielder still has time on his side to reverse the trend. He does, however, need a big 2025 in order to prove that he isn’t a one-season wonder.

9. Lucas Hernández – PSG – Age: 28

As with Moffi, it is injury that prevents France international Lucas Hernández from featuring in this year’s GFFN 100. He featured prominently for PSG in the 2023/24 season. With Mendes injured for much of the campaign, he was unchallenged as Les Parisiens’ first-choice left-back, making 41 appearances in all competitions. However, he suffered a severe knee injury in May, which required surgery. It meant that he missed Euro 2024 and he has only just made his return. He has made just three appearances this season, all of which have been from the bench as he has accrued just 58 minutes of first-team football.

10. Milan Škriniar – PSG – Age: 29

Milan Škriniar’s move to PSG has not worked out. Reports in France suggest that Luis Enrique never wanted the Slovakia international and that has shown in his team selection. This season, he has made just five appearances in all competitions. That came after an unconvincing and injury-hit debut campaign at the Parc des Princes. PSG reportedly wanted to sell the centre-back in the summer but ultimately he remained in the French capital. A bit-part player at best, often omitted entirely from matchday squads, the former Inter Milan captain looks certain to leave PSG this month.

-> DOWNLOAD AND READ THE 2024 EDITION OF THE GFFN 100 HERE

GFFN | Luke Entwistle