2025: A year of McTominay mania – Bicycle kicks, portrait gallery and cigars in Riyadh

Scott McTominay continues to go from strength to strength with Napoli, and as of Monday night, has added a second piece of silverware to his 2025 collection. A Scudetto, an MVP award, a World Cup spot, a Supercoppa Italiana, a portrait in the national gallery and a cigar in Saudi Arabia: Here is a look back at the Scot’s mesmerising calendar year. 

It has been a remarkable 18 months for McTominay since swapping Manchester United for Napoli. He netted 12 goals and laid on six assists in 34 Serie A appearances last season, including a run of five goals in three games in April and May of this year. 

Those goals sent Napoli well on their way to winning their fourth Serie A title, and their second in just three years. Before the 2022-23 and 2024-25 campaigns, Napoli had not won a league title without Diego Maradona in their side. 

And, as a result of his performances, McTominay was crowned the Serie A MVP after his debut season, topping off a career-best season. 

If anything, things have only improved for the former Manchester United midfielder in 2024-25. 

Napoli are still very much in the race for the Serie A title again this season along with the likes of Inter, Napoli, Roma and even Juventus in an incredibly tight top five. That is on top of a return to the Champions League after a year off. McTominay has three goals and an assist from six outings in that particular competition this term. 

McTominay masterclasses have carried over to his national team side as well. He played a pivotal role in securing Scotland a place at the 2026 World Cup, which will be their first appearance at the tournament this century. 

McTominay then secured his spot in the Scotland history books with a stunning bicycle kick three minutes into their crucial final World Cup qualifier against Denmark in November, a repeat of the goal he scored that practically secured Napoli’s Serie A title win earlier this year. The Scot has managed to score three of them this year. 

This particular goal has become so legendary, that it has earned a temporary spot in the National Portrait Gallery in Edinbrough. 

A post shared by National Galleries of Scotland (@nationalgalleriesscot)

Back at club level, Napoli dusted themselves off after a pair of unfortunate slips against Benfica and Udinese to claim their second piece of silverware of 2025. 

They beat Milan 2-0 in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final in Riyadh on Thursday evening, before defeating Bologna by the same scoreline in the final on Monday night. 

McTominay was once again at the centre of the celebrations in Saudi Arabia, and has already gone viral with his Instagram post, showing off his medal, trophy and celebratory cigar. A well-deserved treat after a remarkable year. 

A post shared by SM 🩵⚽️ (@scottmctominay)