Gidsel breaks scoring record; Makuc takes MVP

After scoring 135 goals in 2024/25, in 2025/26, Gidsel set a new record for most goals scored across a season, with 161. The previous record belonged to his compatriot and formater national teammate Mikkel Hansen, who netted 141 times with Paris Saint-Germain in 2015/16. 

Gidsel was already clear ahead of any of the other candidates before travelling to Cologne, then added nine goals to his record on Saturday and another eight in the lost final against Barça on Sunday.

“I am sad that we lost and that’s the only feeling right now. Of course, afterwards, I will realise what a crazy season it was, playing the final and being top scorer, but right now, I can’t be happy about this individual award,” said Gidsel after the final whistle on Sunday.

“I owe it to the coach, my teammates — this is for them. But I would have rather swapped this award for the big trophy.”

Gidsel is only the fourth player to finish as top scorer twice, after Momir Ilić (2013/14 and 2014/15), Uwe Gensheimer (2016/17 and 2017/18) and Mikkel Hansen (2011/12 and 2015/16).

This season is the sixth time a Danish player has taken the award since 2010, as, in addition to Gidsel and Hansen’s seasons, Emil Madsen won it in 2022/23 and Hans Lindberg in 2012/13.

The other player awarded in LANXESS Arena on Sunday night was Barça playmaker Domen Makuc, who was elected MVP of the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026.

The 25-year-old Slovenian will depart the club at the end of season, heading to THW Kiel, but he wanted to leave one last mark before moving away from Barça. 

“That was on my mind all weekend, but I also did not want it to play in my head too much. I had to play with emotions, but not too much emotion as it could have made it worse,” he said after the winning final, in which he scored five goals. He also scored five in the winning semi-final against Aalborg and won his fourth EHF Champions League trophy after 2021, 2022 and 2024.

“It means a lot to be elected MVP but it’s a team performance. A lot of players in my team could have been given the award, honestly.”

Makuc follows SC Magdeburg’s Gísli Kristjánsson, who won the individual trophy last year. He is also the fourth Barça player to win the title, after Nikola Karabatic in 2015, Gonzalo Perez de Vargas in 2021 and Melvyn Richardson in 2024.

Photos © kolektiff images/Stanko Gruden/Jozo Cabraja/Uros Hocevar