Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi has been named as French Footballer of the Year 2015 by France Football magazine.
Matuidi, 28, has been given the accolade for his excellence at club level -- he won every domestic trophy with PSG last season -- and his development into one of the France team's key players.
The award is based on the votes of previous winners including Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema, who won it in 2014.
Matuidi beat Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba by 12 points in the voting system, with Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann, Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane and Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette making up the rest of the top five.
Matuidi : «Ce rêve-là, je ne l'ai pas fait» https://t.co/1zdlNi4A4W pic.twitter.com/s1Y6oFE4GS
- France Football (@francefootball) December 23, 2015
The former Troyes player told the magazine he had no idea that PSG would develop so quickly after signing from Saint-Etienne in July 2011.
He said the double signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva from AC Milan in 2012 had made him realise how big the club was becoming.
"I did feel a real ambition, a dimension that we didn't know in France," Matuidi said. "But the big boom was in the following summer, with the arrivals of Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva.
"Like everyone, I was hearing the rumours -- but I didn't believe in them too much. And then it happened, and at that point I understood that the goal was not only to be the best club in France but to reach the top in Europe.
"At that moment too, I didn't have any doubts [about myself]. On the contrary, it was a motivation for me to show these recruits that the players already there had quality."
Matuidi has widened his game, becoming more attacking rather than being only a defensive midfielder, with his bigger impact in attack highlighted by a brace of goals for France against Serbia in September.
"I can see that I've developed," he said. "I see the respect of the coaches and my teammates, whether it's with my club or with the national team.
"It's a great source of pride, because it shows that I'm not going unnoticed, that my work is recognised."