📈 The rise of the year? From scapegoat to Ballon d’Or contender!

A year ago, he was barely on the radar, let alone on a Ballon d’Or shortlist: But today, Scott McTominay is not only the Italian champion, Serie A Player of the Year and an absolute Napoli legend, but also officially one of the 30 best footballers in the world. How on earth did this meteoric rise happen?

Quite simply: It required a change of scenery, a coach with a clear plan, and a player who was not afraid to leave his comfort zone behind. As a reward, he is now mentioned in the same breath as Diego Maradona. At least among Napoli fans.

Just last year in August, McTominay was hardly more than an ordinary squad player at Manchester United. His last game? A dismal 1:2 defeat against Brighton, in which he only played as a substitute.

The Scottish national player was symbolically blamed by many Red Devils fans for the ongoing misery of their favorite club. The accusation: Technical limitations and simply a lack of level for the very big goals.

But then Napoli came along and forked out around 30 million euros, a sum that today seems like a bargain. At the end of the season, McTominay had 12 league goals, the Scudetto, and the title as the most valuable player in Serie A. His spectacular bicycle kick against Cagliari also paved the way to the championship. A script could hardly have written it more kitschily.

But who is the man behind this transformation? A transformation that one would not have expected from a 28-year-old player in this form. The answer is clearly: Antonio Conte.

While McTominay was dismissed at United as a “defensive water carrier” (quote from BBC journalist Pat Nevin), Conte placed him further forward. As an aggressive box-to-box player with a license to score goals.

📸 Marco Luzzani – 2025 Getty Images

The result: In 34 Serie A games, he scored as often as never before in a season. For comparison: In 178 Premier League appearances, he had only scored 19 goals. At Napoli, however, he was one of the most dangerous midfielders in the league. And yet he lost none of his original tackling strength and physical presence.

“McTominay is perfect for Conte and Conte is perfect for McTominay,” Italian analyst Vincenzo Credendino perfectly summed up this symbiosis.

Off the pitch, too, McTominay quickly settled in the southern Italian metropolis. And that, even though life far from home was initially unfamiliar. “I always lived close to my mother. Now I’m 1,500 miles away. But that’s exactly what gives you mental strength,” he told the ‘BBC’.

The move abroad was a conscious step out of his comfort zone for him: “I don’t want to stand still. I want to go everywhere and give my best. Who should stop me?”

Who definitely didn’t stop him: compatriot and friend Billy Gilmour, who moved from Brighton to Napoli on exactly the same day as McTominay. Together they not only master the new game system. Even more striking: They also mastered the transition from British cuisine and culture to Italian.

📸 DARREN STAPLES – AFP or licensors

In Naples, McTominay is now more than just a footballer who comes and goes. Numerous fans got tattoos, his nickname “McFratm” (a mix of Mc and Fratello – Italian for brother) went viral and in Edinburgh a Scottish flag hangs in a restaurant with the inscription: “Napoli. McTominay. Pizza. In that order.”

This love is mutual. “The people here are incredible. They give you energy everywhere. At training, in the stadium, on the street,” McTominay enthuses. “They inspire you to give your best every time.”

This inspiration apparently not only applies to sport, but also to his own clothing standards. While the former midfield brute looked much more like he was regularly distributing cheekbone fractures in pubs during his Premier League days, he has blossomed into a true style icon in the land of fashion.

The fact that his name now also appears on the prestigious Ballon d’Or list is the cherry on an already sensational Italian cream cake.

From scapegoat to superstar within twelve months: Scott McTominay’s rise is living proof that a change of scenery is sometimes exactly what a footballer needs.

And who knows? Maybe “McFratm” will soon even become “McBallond’Or”.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 Francesco Pecoraro – 2025 Getty Images