PFA Players' Player of the Year

2016 winner Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City

The Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA 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 Riyad Mahrez, who won the award on 24 April 2016 for his displays throughout the 2015–16 season, representing Leicester City.

The first winner of the award was Leeds United defender Norman Hunter. As of 2013, only Mark Hughes, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have won the award on two occasions, and only Henry and Ronaldo have won the award in consecutive seasons. Of the five, only Shearer won his awards playing for two 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

Every spring, each member of the association votes for two players.^[3] 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.^[4] 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",^[5] 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".^[6]

Winners

The award has been presented on 41 occasions as of 2014, with 36 different winners.^{[7][8][9][10]} 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),^[11] the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY),^[12] the PFA Young Player of the Year award (YPY),^[8][9][13] and the Football Supporters’ Federation Player of the Year award (FSF).^[14]

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.

Luis Suárez, the 2014 recipient of the award.

Year		Player	Club	Also won	Notes
1973–74		Hunter, NormanNorman Hunter	Leeds United
1974–75		Todd, ColinColin Todd	Derby County
1975–76		Jennings, PatPat Jennings	Tottenham Hotspur		[15]
1976–77		Gray, AndyAndy Gray	Aston Villa	YPY	[16]
1977–78		Shilton, PeterPeter Shilton	Nottingham Forest
1978–79		Brady, LiamLiam Brady	Arsenal		[17]
1979–80		McDermott, TerryTerry McDermott	Liverpool	FWA	[18]
1980–81		Wark, JohnJohn Wark	Ipswich Town
1981–82		Keegan, KevinKevin Keegan	Southampton
1982–83		Dalglish, KennyKenny Dalglish	Liverpool	FWA
1983–84		Rush, IanIan Rush	Liverpool	FWA
1984–85		Reid, PeterPeter Reid	Everton
1985–86		Lineker, GaryGary Lineker	Everton	FWA
1986–87		Allen, CliveClive Allen	Tottenham Hotspur	FWA
1987–88		Barnes, JohnJohn Barnes	Liverpool	FWA
1988–89		Hughes, MarkMark Hughes	Manchester United
1989–90		Platt, DavidDavid Platt	Aston Villa
1990–91		Hughes, MarkMark Hughes	Manchester United		[19]
1991–92		Pallister, GaryGary Pallister	Manchester United
1992–93		McGrath, PaulPaul McGrath	Aston Villa
1993–94		Cantona, EricEric Cantona	Manchester United		[20]
1994–95		Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer	Blackburn Rovers
1995–96		Ferdinand, LesLes Ferdinand	Newcastle United
1996–97		Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer	Newcastle United		[21]
1997–98		Bergkamp, DennisDennis Bergkamp	Arsenal	FWA
1998–99		Ginola, DavidDavid Ginola	Tottenham Hotspur	FWA
1999–2000		Keane, RoyRoy Keane	Manchester United	FWA
2000–01		Sheringham, TeddyTeddy Sheringham	Manchester United	FWA
2001–02		van Nistelrooy, RuudRuud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United	FPY
2002–03		Henry, ThierryThierry Henry	Arsenal	FWA, FPY	[22]
2003–04		Henry, ThierryThierry Henry	Arsenal	FWA, FPY	[23]
2004–05		Terry, JohnJohn Terry	Chelsea
2005–06		Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard	Liverpool
2006–07		Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	FWA, FPY, YPY	[24]
2007–08		Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	FWA, FPY	[25]
2008–09		Giggs, RyanRyan Giggs	Manchester United		[26]
2009–10		Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney	Manchester United	FWA, FPY	[10]
2010–11		Bale, GarethGareth Bale	Tottenham Hotspur		[27]
2011–12		van Persie, RobinRobin van Persie	Arsenal	FWA, FPY	[28]
2012–13		Bale, GarethGareth Bale	Tottenham Hotspur	FWA, YPY	[29]
2013–14		Suárez, LuisLuis Suárez	Liverpool	FWA, FSF	[30]
2014–15		Hazard, EdenEden Hazard	Chelsea	FWA	[31]
2015–16		Mahrez, RiyadRiyad Mahrez	Leicester City		[32]

Breakdown of winners

By country

Country	Number of wins	Winning years
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	6	1983–84, 1988–89, 1990–91, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
France	4	1993–94, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04
Scotland	3	1976–77, 1980–81, 1982–83
Republic of Ireland	3	1978–79, 1992–93, 1999–2000
Netherlands	3	1997–98, 2001–02, 2011–12
Portugal	2	2006–07, 2007–08
Northern Ireland	1	1975–76
Uruguay	1	2013–14
Belgium	1	2014–15
Algeria	1	2015–16

By club

Club	Number of wins	Winning years
Manchester United	11	1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
Liverpool	6	1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 2005–06, 2013-14
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
Aston Villa	3	1976–77, 1989–90, 1992–93
Everton	2	1984–85, 1985–86
Newcastle United	2	1995–96, 1996–97
Chelsea	2	2004–05, 2014–15
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

References

1. "England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Players' Players of the Year". England Football Online. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
2. "Ronaldo picks up the double". The Daily Mail (London). 23 April 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
3. "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
4. "United trio lead nominations for PFA award". The Times (London). 16 April 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
5. "Sheringham wins second award". BBC. 29 April 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
6. "Terry claims player of year award". BBC. 24 April 2005. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
7. "Only here for the peers". BBC. 20 April 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
8. "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
9. "Ronaldo secures PFA awards double". BBC. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
10. "Rooney is PFA player of the year". BBC. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
11. "England – Players Awards". RSSSF. 4 October 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
12. "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.
13. Frank Keogh (20 April 2001). "Too much too young?". BBC. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
14. "The FSF Awards in association with William Hill (Monday 16th Dec)". Football Supporters’ Federation. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
15. First non–English winner, also first player to win both the PFA and FWA awards, having won the FWA award in 1973.
16. First player to win two awards in a single season.
17. First winner from outside the United Kingdom.
18. First player to win both PFA and FWA awards in the same season.
19. First player to win the award twice.
20. First winner of the award from outside the British Isles.
21. First player to win the award with two different clubs.
22. First player to win three awards in a single season.
23. First player to win the award in two consecutive seasons.
24. First player to win four awards in a single season.
25. "Ronaldo named player of the year". BBC. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
26. Stafford, Mikey (26 April 2009). "Ryan Giggs pays tribute to manager after adding another trophy to cabinet". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
27. "Spurs' Gareth Bale wins PFA player of the year award". BBC. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
28. "Arsenal striker Robin van Persie named PFA Player of the Year". BBC. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
29. "Gareth Bale wins PFA Player of Year and Young Player awards". BBC Sport. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
30. First South American and non-European player to win the award.
31. "Chelsea's Eden Hazard named PFA Player of the Year". Goal.com. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
32. "Riyad Mahrez: Leicester City forward named PFA Player of the Year". BBC. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.

External links

• The official website of the Professional Footballers' Association