MVP Sarah Bouktit's fairytale swansong with Metz Handball

Sarah Bouktit displayed a dominant performance in the final, scoring 12 goals and tying the likes of the legendary Henny Reistad, Anita Görbicz, Heidi Holme Astrup and Indira Kastratovic, who sit in joint fifth place for scoring the most goals in the EHF Champions League final history.

"I can't believe what's happened. I'm so happy, so much work, we've put in so much effort only for failures and it was so hard to get back up each time. I'm so happy, I don't know what to say," admits Bouktit.

The 23-year-old previously scored eight goals in the semi-final against CSM Bucuresti, and finished as the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 2026 top scorer with 20 goals in total, recording an impressive 87 per cent shooting accuracy.

When asked about whether her performances over the weekend at the MVM Dome in Budapest were the best she has ever played in her career, she says: "I think so. I was so prepared for this FINAL4, I focused on it for such a long time to produce a big performance. The team needed me, and we did it today.

“So yes, I think it's my best performance. It's mad [being selected as the MVP]. I didn't think about it, I didn't consider it at all. I was only thinking about the victory and nothing else. But it's a nice extra. I'm so, so happy, that's all."

Emmanuel Mayonnade's squad displayed a near-perfect performance in the final on Sunday, worthy of ending Györ's dominance and their winning streak at the MVM Dome in Budapest, which stretched back to 2023.

"I think we played a match that wasn't perfect, but nearly [perfect]. We didn't have much luck at the start, but we didn't let our heads drop. We were quickly trailing by three or four, but we knew that we had so much time to come back.

“We were very accurate, we pushed every ball, jumped on every ball we could, we really fought to the end to win this Champions League, and we deserve it with the performance we did," analyses Bouktit.

Metz Handball have long dreamt about lifting the EHF Champions League trophy after coming short during their debut EHF FINAL4 experience back in 2021/22, when they finished in third place, but Sarah Bouktit helped her beloved club achieve their ultimate dream.

"It's been my dream and the dream of the club for so long. Every year we miss out at a different stage, and we knew that we weren't far off winning it. We lost the French championship this year, but we knew straight away that if we won the Champions League, nobody would remember that. And we did it.

“So, we're just very happy, and very happy to have written history. I think we're the best French club. It was quite hard to lose the French championship in those circumstances [on a goal difference to Brest Bretagne Handball]. It was certainly a source of extra motivation to make our season a success and we worked hard to make it happen," explains Bouktit.

Interestingly enough, Sarah Bouktiti provided a glimpse of the future, as she will leave Metz Handball in the summer and join the EHF Champions League 2025/26 runners-up, Györi Audi ETO KC.

Asked about her performance against her future club, she notes: "Whether it was Györ [in the final] or someone else, that wouldn't have changed anything, I would have wanted to give everything whoever it was. That's what I did. In the end, it was Györ, so that made a bit of history and I hope I'll be able to do these sorts of performances with them too.

“I don't want to stop here. It's my first, it's great, but I want to carry on and win so much more Champions Leagues. That's why I signed for Györ, because I know they're a team that are practically all the time at the FINAL4. I will come back and I'll win more titles, and why not, another MVP."

Sarah Bouktit finished the season on 125 goals, only six behind the competition’s top scorer Henny Reistad (131 goals), and the French international was determined to end her chapter with Metz on a high, finding extra motivation to be both the MVP and the top scorer of the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 2026.

"Because it was my last match with Metz, because the disappointments of the previous years were too hard to live through, and because I really wanted to give everything, because it was so important for me. This club is in my heart, and it'll be there throughout my life, that was my main motivation," ends Bouktit.

Even though the 23-year-old is now leaving Metz after spending most of her career with the side, her love for the club and the memories of the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 2026 will never fade, as the competition’s pinnacle event  put Metz in the French handball history books and Bouktit among the greats of the EHF FINAL4.

Photos © kolektiff images