12 of best Man of the Match awards in football: Eggs, curry, Crash Bandicoot…

Gone are the days of the Player of the Match being treated to a bottle of champagne after a whirlwind performance, with the Premier League notably opting for a more simple trophy approach.

That trophy looks like it’s been designed and created in a secondary school design and technology classroom, which has admittedly drained the life out of watching a player rip it up for 90 minutes and being rewarded after.

However, those Premier League stars winning a little trophy should be grateful, as we’ve done some digging and pulled together a list of the most bizarre yet brilliant POTM awards one could be awarded.

How do you get your protein in after a hard match as a professional footballer? How about four trays of eggs!

Bryne goalkeeper Jan de Boer was named man of the match against Bodo/Glimt, and received four trays of eggs for his troubles.

If you’re a terminally online football fan like us, chances are you’ve come across Mamelodi Sundowns at some point. And if you have, it won’t be a surprise to see the South African side make this list.

Hlompho Kekana was awarded Man of the Match for a strong performance with the side some years ago, and received 5gb of mobile data as a prize – in the form of a hilariously large SIM card.

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Carlisle United were apparently staunch believers in that for a period of time in 2021, awarding Joe Riley a korma from the local Indian for a Player of the Match display in a 2-1 defeat.

From Manchester United’s academy to this. As you can tell, he was clearly delighted.

Imagine putting in a monstrous shift, winning Player of the Match and being made to wear a silly burger king crown in front of the media after the match?

River Plate’s Franco Armani didn’t have to imagine in 2018, because he lived through it. Couldn’t even stretch to a free whopper meal. Scandalous.

We’d love to bash this one, but being honest, this is a seriously handy gift.

Would play like a man possessed for a pair of new sliders. Sign us up.

Now this is a prize we can get behind.

No jokes here, just pure jealousy. Exceptional game – we just hope Benrahma actually had a PS4 to make use of it with and not an XBOX. Nightmare if so.

Peak Carabao.

How do you keep one of the most promising young talents on the planet, currently on loan from Real Madrid, grounded and humble?

When he wins Player of the Month, award him with a big plate of silver hake. Never mind falling in love with a loan player, he was probably desperate to leave after being given this.

Being awarded a pizza as a footballer to reward your performances is bad enough, but Partick Thistle’s decision to award Connor Sammon with the most greasy takeaway at 4am after a night out pizza was rather hilarious.

Seriously. Wouldn’t touch that with a barge pole. Wonder how Sammon felt about it, though – can’t quite tell from his facial expression.

This probably broke several animal welfare laws.

We’d imagine the hen was only given to the player so that he could enjoy eggs and nothing more. We hope so, anyway.

Just sold my car, to the Sudan Premier League.

Literally, because whenever someone wins Player of the Match, they get a handy jug of engine oil to keep up the service history.

Incredibly Sunday league, this.

Don’t drink them all at once – unless you’re sharing them with the gaffer at pre-drinks.

Finishing back in England, Zac Williams was only 17 in 2021 when he was awarded Player of the Match.

Champagne? Of course not. Lemonade alternative? Nope. Two-thirds of a meal deal? Yep, that’ll do.