Khadija Shaw scored 21 WSL goals, broke the record for the fastest hat-trick in league history, and dragged Manchester City to their first title in a decade. If there was a more dominant individual performance across European women's football this season, nobody saw it.
With the Women's FA Cup final between Brighton and Manchester City still to come on May 31, and Barcelona facing OL Lyonnes in a blockbuster Champions League final in Oslo this Saturday, the 2025-26 season isn't quite finished. But the performances are already in. Here's who stood out.
Shaw leads the WSL awards — and it's not close
Shaw's third Golden Boot since 2023 came with a layer of evolution this season. The Jamaica striker has always been dangerous in the box, but her hold-up play, link-up work, and ability to bring teammates into attacks has raised her to a different level. She leads the WSL not just in goals (21) but in combined goals and assists (25), expected goals (20.8), and — yes — big chances missed (29). That last number tells you how often she was getting into positions, not that she was wasteful.
Her City teammate Aoba Fujino takes the Young Player award, voted by The Athletic's subscribers. The 22-year-old Japanese winger arrived at City in 2024 and quietly became indispensable, covering for injuries to Kerolin, Mary Fowler, and Lauren Hemp while contributing five goals and three assists in 15 appearances. She wasn't supposed to be this important this soon.
Manager of the Season goes to Andree Jeglertz, and the case is straightforward: he took City — a club with the resources but not the mentality of champions — and rewired both. Training sessions involving City Football Group academy boys, more collaborative analysis meetings, and a relentless focus on winning culture. The title speaks for itself.
The WSL Team of the Season skews heavily City, as you'd expect. Goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita ranked highest in the league for goals prevented (4.1). Right-back Kerstin Casparij joint-leads the division with seven assists. Aston Villa's Kirsty Hanson — the genuine surprise of the season — sneaks in with 12 goals, second only to Shaw. The full XI:
- Ayaka Yamashita (Manchester City)
- Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City)
- Toko Koga (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Jade Rose (Manchester City)
- Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
- Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)
- Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal)
- Olivia Holdt (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Kirsty Hanson (Aston Villa)
- Khadija Shaw (Manchester City)
- Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City)
The Goal of the Season belongs to Tottenham's Cathinka Tandberg, who lofted a shot from the halfway line over Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan in September. What makes it better: she'd done the exact same thing in training the day before. At 21, audacity is already her brand.
Dumornay and Giraldez headline the European awards
Lyon's Melchie Dumornay takes European Player of the Season, and her second-leg performance against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals captures everything about her. She'd missed the first leg injured. She came back, won a penalty, and threaded the assist for Jule Brand's winner. The 22-year-old Haiti international has the finishing, the short backlift, the defensive transitions — she's not just a scorer anymore, she's the kind of attacking midfielder who changes the shape of a game.
Barcelona's Vicky Lopez, 19, wins Young Player of the Season. She stepped into Aitana Bonmatí's role when the Ballon d'Or winner fractured her fibula, having already done something similar at the European Championship when Bonmatí contracted meningitis. The comparisons to Lamine Yamal — the two grew up together at La Masia and were named Golden Boy and Golden Girl in 2024 — are convenient, but Lopez has earned her own recognition. She took the Kopa Trophy for the world's best under-21 player in September 2025.
And then there's Jonatan Giraldez, European Manager of the Season, who is about to face the club he built his reputation at. He left Barcelona in 2024 after winning every available trophy — including their third Champions League — spent a season at Washington Spirit, and arrived at Lyon to win the Coupe de France Feminine and reach another Champions League final in his first year. The final this Saturday is Lyon vs Barcelona. Giraldez managed the same fixture in 2024. He won that one too.
