PFA Players' Player of the Year

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This article is about the men's award. For the women's award, see PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year.

PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year
Kevin De Bruyne 201807091.jpg
2020 and 2021 winner Kevin De Bruyne
SportAssociation football
CompetitionAll levels of English football
CountryEngland and Wales
Presented byPFA
History
First award1973–74
Editions48
First winnerEngland Norman Hunter
Most recentBelgium Kevin De Bruyne (2021)
WebsiteOfficial website

The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in English football.[1] The award has been presented since the 1973–74 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).[2] The current holder is Kevin De Bruyne, who retained the award on 6 June 2021. The 2020 ceremony was postponed from its usual date in April or May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

The first winner of the award was Leeds United defender Norman Hunter. As of 2021, only Mark Hughes, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Kevin De Bruyne have won the award on two occasions, and only Henry, Ronaldo and De Bruyne have won the award in consecutive seasons. Of the five, only Shearer won his two awards playing for different teams. Although there is a separate PFA Young Player of the Year award for players under the age of 23, young players remain eligible to win the senior award, and on three occasions the same player has won both awards for a season, Andy Gray in 1976–77, Ronaldo in 2006–07 and Bale in 2012–13. Only three non-European players have won the award: Luis Suárez (Uruguay) in 2013–14, Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) in 2015–16 and Mohamed Salah (Egypt) in 2017–18.

Every spring, each member of the association votes for two players.[4] A shortlist of nominees is published in April and the winner of the award, along with the winners of the PFA's other annual awards, is announced at a gala event in London a few days later.[5] The award is regarded by the players themselves as extremely prestigious, with Teddy Sheringham describing it in 2001 as "the biggest personal award you can get in the game",[6] and John Terry stating in 2005 that he considered it "the ultimate accolade to be voted for by your fellow professionals whom you play against week-in and week-out".[7]

Winners[]

The award has been presented on 48 occasions as of 2021, with 42 different winners.[8][9][10][11] The table also indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in English football, namely the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award (FWA),[12] the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY),[13] the PFA Young Player of the Year award (YPY),[9][10][14] the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS),[15] and the Football Supporters’ Federation Player of the Year award (FSF).[16]

Andy Gray was the first player to win the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards in the same season.
Mark Hughes was the first player to win the Player of the Year award twice.
Thierry Henry was the first player to win the award in two consecutive seasons.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player to win all five major awards in the same year.
Winners of the PFA Players' of the Year
Year Player Club Also won Notes
1973–74 England Norman Hunter Leeds United
1974–75 England Colin Todd Derby County
1975–76 Northern Ireland Pat Jennings Tottenham Hotspur [17]
1976–77 Scotland Andy Gray Aston Villa YPY [18]
1977–78 England Peter Shilton Nottingham Forest
1978–79 Republic of Ireland Liam Brady Arsenal [19]
1979–80 England Terry McDermott Liverpool FWA [20]
1980–81 Scotland John Wark Ipswich Town
1981–82 England Kevin Keegan Southampton
1982–83 Scotland Kenny Dalglish Liverpool FWA
1983–84 Wales Ian Rush Liverpool FWA
1984–85 England Peter Reid Everton
1985–86 England Gary Lineker Everton FWA
1986–87 England Clive Allen Tottenham Hotspur FWA
1987–88 England John Barnes Liverpool FWA
1988–89 Wales Mark Hughes Manchester United
1989–90 England David Platt Aston Villa
1990–91 Wales Mark Hughes (2) Manchester United [21]
1991–92 England Gary Pallister Manchester United
1992–93 Republic of Ireland Paul McGrath Aston Villa
1993–94 France Eric Cantona Manchester United [22]
1994–95 England Alan Shearer Blackburn Rovers PPS
1995–96 England Les Ferdinand Newcastle United
1996–97 England Alan Shearer (2) Newcastle United [23]
1997–98 Netherlands Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal FWA
1998–99 France David Ginola Tottenham Hotspur FWA
1999–2000 Republic of Ireland Roy Keane Manchester United FWA
2000–01 England Teddy Sheringham Manchester United FWA
2001–02 Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United FPY
2002–03 France Thierry Henry Arsenal FWA, FPY [24]
2003–04 France Thierry Henry (2) Arsenal FWA, FPY, PPS [25]
2004–05 England John Terry Chelsea
2005–06 England Steven Gerrard Liverpool
2006–07 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United FWA, FPY, YPY, PPS [26]
2007–08 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (2) Manchester United FWA, FPY, PPS [27]
2008–09 Wales Ryan Giggs Manchester United [28]
2009–10 England Wayne Rooney Manchester United FWA, FPY, PPS [11]
2010–11 Wales Gareth Bale Tottenham Hotspur [29]
2011–12 Netherlands Robin van Persie Arsenal FWA, FPY [30]
2012–13 Wales Gareth Bale (2) Tottenham Hotspur FWA, YPY, PPS [31]
2013–14 Uruguay Luis Suárez Liverpool FWA, FPY, PPS, FSF [32]
2014–15 Belgium Eden Hazard Chelsea FWA, PPS [33]
2015–16 Algeria Riyad Mahrez Leicester City FPY [34]
2016–17 France N'Golo Kanté Chelsea FWA, PPS [35]
2017–18 Egypt Mohamed Salah Liverpool FWA, FPY, PPS, FSF [36]
2018–19 Netherlands Virgil van Dijk Liverpool PPS, FSF [37]
2019–20 Belgium Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City PPS [38]
2020–21 Belgium Kevin De Bruyne (2) Manchester City

Breakdown of winners[]

By country[]

Winners of the PFA Players' Player of the Year by country
Country Number of wins Winning years
England England
18
 1973–74, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10
Wales Wales
6
 1983–84, 1988–89, 1990–91, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
France France
5
 1993–94, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2016–17
Netherlands Netherlands
4
 1997–98, 2001–02, 2011–12, 2018–19
Scotland Scotland
3
 1976–77, 1980–81, 1982–83
Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland
3
 1978–79, 1992–93, 1999–2000
Belgium Belgium
3
 2014–15, 2019–20, 2020-21
Portugal Portugal
2
 2006–07, 2007–08
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland
1
 1975–76
Uruguay Uruguay
1
 2013–14
Algeria Algeria
1
 2015–16
Egypt Egypt
1
 2017–18

By club[]

Winners of the PFA Players' Player of the Year by club
Club Number of wins Winning years
Manchester United
11
 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
Liverpool
8
 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 2005–06, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19
Tottenham Hotspur
5
 1975–76, 1986–87, 1998–99, 2010–11, 2012–13
Arsenal
5
 1978–79, 1997–98, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2011–12
Chelsea
3
 2004–05, 2014–15, 2016–17
Aston Villa
3
 1976–77, 1989–90, 1992–93
Everton
2
 1984–85, 1985–86
Newcastle United
2
 1995–96, 1996–97
Manchester City
2
 2019–20, 2020–21
Leeds United
1
 1973–74
Derby County
1
 1974–75
Nottingham Forest
1
 1977–78
Ipswich Town
1
 1980–81
Southampton
1
 1981–82
Blackburn Rovers
1
 1994–95
Leicester City
1
 2015–16

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Players' Players of the Year". England Football Online. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  2. ^ McGrath, Mike (29 June 2020). "PFA remain confident annual Player of the Year awards will go ahead". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  3. ^ Clark, Gill (16 March 2020). "PFA Awards Ceremony 2020 Postponed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  5. ^ "United trio lead nominations for PFA award". The Times. London. 16 April 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  6. ^ "Sheringham wins second award". BBC. 29 April 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  7. ^ "Terry claims player of year award". BBC. 24 April 2005. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  8. ^ "Only here for the peers". BBC. 20 April 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ronaldo secures PFA awards double". BBC. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "Rooney is PFA player of the year". BBC. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  12. ^ "England – Players Awards". RSSSF. 4 October 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
  13. ^ "PFA's Official Fan's Player of the Year: Previous Winners". The Professional Footballers' Association. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  14. ^ Frank Keogh (20 April 2001). "Too much too young?". BBC. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
  15. ^ "Player of the Season". Premier League. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  16. ^ "The FSF Awards in association with William Hill (Monday 16th Dec)". Football Supporters’ Federation. 14 October 2013. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  17. ^ First non–English winner, also first player to win both the PFA and FWA awards, having won the FWA award in 1973.
  18. ^ First player to win two awards in a single season.
  19. ^ First winner from outside the United Kingdom.
  20. ^ First player to win both PFA and FWA awards in the same season.
  21. ^ First player to win the award twice.
  22. ^ First winner of the award from outside the British Isles.
  23. ^ First player to win the award with two clubs.
  24. ^ First player to win three awards in a single season.
  25. ^ First player to win the award in two consecutive seasons.
  26. ^ First player to win four awards in a single season.
  27. ^ "Ronaldo named player of the year". BBC. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  28. ^ Stafford, Mikey (26 April 2009). "Ryan Giggs pays tribute to manager after adding another trophy to cabinet". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
  29. ^ "Spurs' Gareth Bale wins PFA player of the year award". BBC. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  30. ^ "Arsenal striker Robin van Persie named PFA Player of the Year". BBC. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  31. ^ "Gareth Bale wins PFA Player of Year and Young Player awards". BBC Sport. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  32. ^ First South American and non-European player to win the award.
  33. ^ "Chelsea's Eden Hazard named PFA Player of the Year". Goal.com. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  34. ^ "Riyad Mahrez: Leicester City forward named PFA Player of the Year". BBC. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  35. ^ "Chelsea Midfielder N'Golo Kanté named PFA player of the year". Evening Standard. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  36. ^ "Mohamed Salah: Liverpool forward voted PFA Player of the Year 2017-18". BBC. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  37. ^ "Virgil van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema win PFA Player of the Year awards". BBC. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  38. ^ "PFA Player of the Year: Kevin de Bruyne and Beth England named 2020 winners". British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

External links[]

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