PFA Awards LIVE Updates And Winners As Mohamed Salah And Kevin De Bruyne Go For Player Of The Year
Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne are going head-to-head for the PFA Player of the Year award this evening.
The coveted gong, awarded following a vote between the Premier League’s players, is the flagship award being presented at the star-studded event in London.
Salah and De Bruyne are the two favorites for the top prize, while Harry Kane, David De Gea, Leroy Sane, and David Silva have also been nominated.
There are three Manchester City players in contention for the Young Player of the Year award with Sane, Raheem Sterling, and Ederson all in the frame.
Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, and Ryan Sessegnon make up the rest of the nominees.
We will be bringing you all of the winners through the night as they are announced right here…
Mohamed Salah: PFA award winner in numbers
39million – Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of 39million euros to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3million – a bargain given his performances since.
13 – The 25-year-old was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57 – It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for Liverpool in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino’s attempted lob.
7 – Salah’s best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3 – This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division’s best player in November, February and March.
40 – Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool’s history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30 – The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8 – As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season’s Champions League. Only Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe’s premier club competition.
Salah on scoring one more goal
Salah was asked what would it mean to break the record for the most Premier League goals in a season…
“As you know, comparing your name with these names and breaking the Premier League record of 38 (games) is something huge for the English and all over the world, so there are still three games to go.
“I want to break this record and I also want to break the one for 42 (games in a season).
“I think it’s all very near now I have 34 goals, so it’s three goals to go.
“Let’s see what will happen in the next three games.”
Salah on facing Roma on Tuesday night
He’s been asked about the Champions League.
Believe it or not, he’s excited…
“It is very special to play for Liverpool in a semi-final. The atmosphere at Anfield is great.
“To play Roma it makes it extra special, as I still speak to my friends there.
“I am very excited for it.”
Salah speaks on his award
He’s a happy chap… but also very humble.
When asked about chasing down Ian Rush’s seasonal goalscoring record…
“I play for the team and not just for myself.
“I have the chance to thank my teammates, the coaches and all in the club for what is happening now.
“The players have helped me a lot to be here now and to score goes and I am very happy for that.”
Klopp sends Salah message
A video has come on the screen from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to the winner…
“Congratulations. Really rare in football that you win as an individual, but this team lifts from personality, players and I am really happy to be “your manager over the past year.
“This award is an unbelievable honour for you and your family to be proud of.
“We have had a great ride so far, but we have few more yards to go.
“Now please, grab the trophy and come home… we play on Tuesday!”
Salah named PFA Player of the Year
Mohamed Salah has been crowned the PFA Player of the Year after an explosive first season at Liverpool.
Few could have foreseen the Egyptian magician’s impact after he swapped Roma for Anfield last summer in a £34.3million deal.
It has certainly proven money well spent and Salah’s exceptional performances have brought recognition from his peers in his first season back in English football.
The 25-year-old was named Player of the Year at the 45th PFA Awards at Grosvenor House in central London on Sunday evening, having seen off tough competition from Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne.
The pair have been the standout players of a memorable campaign, with the Belgium international playing an integral role as Pep Guardiola’s swashbuckling side won the Premier League in style.
1st: Mohamed Salah
2nd: Kevin De Bruyne
3rd: Harry Kane
Time for the award’s big night
Right, Tom is done.
Here comes the big award of the night.
Manish Bhasin is introducing the nominees now…
While we wait…
There is another musical interlude!
Of course, very predictable.
Probably the best act of the night so far as Tom Grennan gets up on stage.
Good little jam, this…
Now for the big one…
Will it be De Bruyne?
Will it be Salah?
Or will there be a turnout for the books?
It’s almost time to find out.
Sit tight!
Kirby wins PFA Women’s Player of the Year
Chelsea Ladies striker Fran Kirby’s excellent form has been recognised by her peers as she won the vote for the Professional Footballers’ Association Women’s Player of the Year.
The 24-year-old has been an inspiration for the swashbuckling Blues this year, and had netted 22 goals in all competitions heading into this weekend to help the west Londoners run amok.
Kirby was one of five players from unbeaten Women’s Super League leaders Chelsea to be shortlisted for the award, with Millie Bright, Ji So-yun, Maren Mjelde and Ramona Bachmann joining her and Manchester City’s Jill Scott.
The former Reading striker received the award at the Grosvenor House in central London on Sunday, just hours after Chelsea faced Wolfsburg in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
1st: Fran Kirby
2nd: Ji So-Yun
3rd: Marin Mjelde
Onto the next award…
Next up is the Women’s Player of the Year award.
Remember, there are five Chelsea players up for this one!
England youth team achievements being honoured
Paul Simpson and Lewis Cook are on stage now alongside Gareth Southgate.
They are being honoured for the England youth success in World Cups over the past 12 months.
Under-17 and Under-20 World Cup winners!
Southgate says he is excited about the future…
Sane sends message from Manchester
Sane was unable to make it down to the awards dinner this evening.
But he did leave a nice message, with his trophy in hand.
Leroy Sane wins PFA Young Player of the Year
Leroy Sane’s exceptional season with Manchester City has earned him the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Pep Guardiola’s side have thrilled onlookers with their Premier League displays this term, adding the title to their Carabao Cup triumph with five games to spare.
City players made up half of the shortlist for Young Player of the Year award, with vastly-improved Raheem Sterling, summer signing Ederson and exciting forward Sane making the cut.
The latter was announced as winner at the 45th PFA Awards on Sunday at Grosvenor House in central London after a season in which the Germany international has been in scorching form.
Signed from Schalke two years ago for an initial £37million, the 22-year-old hit the ground running and was also shortlisted for last season’s Young Player of the Year award.
Sane has kicked on again under the tutelage of Guardiola, scoring 13 goals in all competitions heading into the weekend in a campaign to cherish.
1st: Leroy Sane
2nd: Harry Kane
3rd: Raheem Sterling
Men’s Young Player coming up next…
Back to the men’s awards now.
It’s Young Player time…
Hemp wins PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year
Bristol City Women’s Lauren Hemp has been named winner of the Women’s Young Player of the Year prize.
Just 17 years old, the striker was crowned England Young Player of the Year in September.
Hemp was shortlisted alongside the Manchester City trio of Ellie Roebuck, Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh, as well as Chelsea’s Erin Cuthbert and Everton Ladies’ Gabby George.
1st: Lauren Hemp
2nd: Georgia Stanway
3rd: Ellie Roebuck
The room is on its feet
A standing ovation in the room for Regis.
His family have been invited onto stage to collect the award.
Some warming words from them to honour Regis.
A deserved winner indeed.
Cyrille Regis wins posthumous Merit award
Cyrille Regis’ contribution to the game has been recognised with a posthumous Merit award from the Professional Footballers’ Association.
The former West Brom and Coventry striker died of a heart attack in January aged just 59 and his death prompted an avalanche of tributes.
His goalscoring prowess earned him five England caps, and helped Coventry win the FA Cup in 1987, but Regis is perhaps best known now as a pioneer for black players at a time when racist attitudes were common in British football and society.
Speaking to Press Association Sport, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor said: “He was a great footballer, a true gentleman and a role model and mentor for black players.
“You could tell how much he meant to people from the reaction to his death and we just felt it was right to honour him and his family in this way.
“Football has come a long way in terms of equality on the pitch – it is a very cosmopolitan game now – but we know we have more to do off the pitch and you only have to look at the newspapers with stories about Stephen Lawrence and Windrush migrants to see how relevant Cyrille’s story still is.
“I think it was Ian Wright who described Cyrille as football’s Martin Luther King and there is no doubt that he made a huge contribution to making football more diverse.”
Taylor added that Regis was also the first black player to receive an individual PFA award when he was named Young Player of the Year in 1979, which was Taylor’s first PFA awards ceremony after retiring as a player and going to work for the union.
Onto the main awards…
We will start with the PFA Merit Award, before heading to the women’s awards.
From there, it will be the men’s awards.
Not long to wait before we know the winner of the Salah vs De Bruyne debate.
Premier League Team of the Year
We already know those in this team, but for those who have missed it, here is the Premier League Team of the Year…
GK | David de Gea (Manchester United)
RB | Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
CB | Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur)
CB | Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City)
LB | Marcos Alonso (Chelsea)
MID | David Silva (Manchester City)
MID | Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
MID | Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur)
FWD | Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
FWD | Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
FWD | Sergio Agüero (Manchester City)
22:35
Women’s Super League Team of the Year
The Women’s Super League has continued to grow in recent years.
Here’s their Team of the Year…
GK | Ann-Katrin Berger (Birmingham City Ladies)
RB | Hannah Blundell (Chelsea Ladies)
CB | Millie Bright (Chelsea Ladies)
CB | Aoife Mannion (Birmingham City Ladies)
LB | Demi Stokes (Manchester City Women)
MID | Fara Williams (Reading Women)
MID | Ji So-Yun (Chelsea Ladies)
MID | Maren Mjelde (Chelsea Ladies)
FWD | Ellen White (Birmingham City Ladies)
FWD | Fran Kirby (Chelsea Ladies)
FWD | Beth Mead (Arsenal Women)
22:25
Championship Team of the Year
Onto the second tier.
Some very, very, very decent names in here.
Ryan Sessegnon, Ruben Neves and James Maddison among those to make the cut.
Here’s how the XI looks…
GK | John Ruddy (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
RB | Ryan Fredericks (Fulham)
CB | Sol Bamba (Cardiff City)
CB | Willy Boly (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
LB | Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham)
MID | James Maddison (Norwich City)
MID | Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
MID | Tom Cairney (Fulham)
FWD | Bobby Reid (Bristol City)
FWD | Leon Clarke (Sheffield United)
FWD | Matěj Vydra (Derby County)
22:20
Another musical break…
Fear not, those of you who are here for the main awards.
The winners have not yet been officially announced but we are edging closer to finding out who takes the awards.
Not sure this music is quite to everyone’s taste in the room…
22:15
League One Team of the Year
Here’s the team from the third tier.
Plenty of Blackburn, plenty of Wigan, little bit of Shrewsbury.
22:09
League Two Team of the Year
It’s time for the League Two Team of the Year to be honoured.
Adebayo Akinfenwa one of the bigger names in there, with decent Accrington representation too.
Here’s the line up…
GK | Marek Stech (Luton Town)
RB | Jack Grimmer (Coventry City)
CB | Alan Sheehan (Luton Town)
CB | Mark Hughes (Accrington Stanley)
LB | Dan Potts (Luton Town)
MID | Jorge Grant (Notts County (on loan from Nottingham Forest))
MID | Luke Berry (Luton Town)
MID | Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley)
FWD | Adebayo Akinfenwa (Wycombe Wanderers)
FWD | Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley)
FWD | Danny Hylton (Luton Town)
All-time appearance maker honoured
Next to be honoured here is Paul Bastock.
The non-league goalkeeper, 47, holds the all-time appearance record, having played 1,274 competitive games.
And he is STILL playing for Wisbech Town, which is some effort.
22:01KEY EVENT
Casey Stoney MBE wins Special Achievement Award
The first award of the night goes to Casey Stoney MBE.
The former England international has claimed the Special Achievement Award.
Stoney is the first-ever woman to join the PFA committee.
She says: “The PFA have helped me so much, I wouldn’t be where I am on my coaching journey if it wasn’t for them.”
Congratulations to @CaseyStoney, winner of the Special Achievement Award
Wilkins and Regis also among those honoured
The tributes have continued to some of the other greats we have lost in the past 12 months.
Among those are Ray Wilkins and Cyrille Regis.
Very touching tribute.
Some touching tributes to start the evening
The musical interludes are done now, so it’s time for the serious stuff.
We start proceedings with a moving tribute to Jimmy Armfield CBE, who passed away earlier this year.
Moving stuff, which has included soundbites from Jimmy himself.
Here we go…
The awards ceremony is properly underway!
What does that call for? Musical entertainment, of course!
We feel like this might drag a little bit.
At least Gareth looks like he is enjoying it…
(Image: PA)
(Image: PA)
Previous winners of the award
A quick look back at the previous winners of the award.
If Salah wins tonight, he will be the second Liverpool player in five years to claim it.
If De Bruyne comes out on top, he will be the first Manchester City player EVER to win in.
- 2016/17: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
- 2015/16: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester)
- 2014/15: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
- 2013/14: Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
- 2012/13: Gareth Bale (Tottenham)
(Image: PA Wire)
Women’s Young Player of the Year nominees
A nice off of the hat to these youngsters, too.
Wide open award this one with some household names hoping to grab the trophy.
- Ellie Roebuck
- Erin Cuthbert
- Gabby George
- Georgia Stanway
- Lauren Hemp
- Keira Walsh
Women’s Player of the Year nominees
Now if you thought Manchester City were the dominant force in the Premier League, wait until you see the nominees for the Women’s Player of the Year.
Jill Scott plays for City, but the other five are ALL Chelsea players.
Not a shabby effort from that bunch.
- Ramona Bachman
- Millie Bright
- Fran Kirby
- Maren Mjelde
- Jill Scott
- Ji So-Yun
(Image: PA)
Young Player of the Year nominees
Three Manchester City players up for this one.
Still waiting on their arrivals too, by the way.
That old pesky 4:30pm kick-off in Manchester wasn’t the most convenient for their lot…
- Raheem Sterling
- Harry Kane
- Leroy Sane
- Marcus Rashford
- Ederson
- Ryan Sessegnon
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
Quick reminder of the nominees: Player of the Year
The meal is going down nicely, we are sure. They’re probably onto their summer fruits creme brulee or something fancy like that by now.
I’m sure it’s better than the reduced price Tesco sandwich I’ve been tucking into. Maltesers for dessert, if you were wondering.
Anyway, a quick reminder of the six names in the running for the main award.
- Mohamed Salah
- Kevin De Bruyne
- Harry Kane
- David De Gea
- Leroy Sane
- David Silva
(Image: REUTERS)
City’s women have arrived
Tonight is not just all about the men’s game.
The same awards will be dished out to those playing in the Women’s Super League.
Manchester City trio Izzy Christiansen (second left), Ellie Roebuck and Georgia Stanway are all in attendance.
(Image: PA)
Football League’s finest in the room
A few more shots from the arrivals, while we wait for them to finish guzzling down their dinners.
Manish Bhasin (bring back the Football League Show!) was in attendance on the red carpet.
Fulham’s Ryan Fredericks is about too.
As are the Accrington Stanley squad, who deserve a huge shoutout for their efforts this season. Sensational stuff.
(Image: PA)
(Image: PA)
(Image: PA)
Cook and Sessegnon in attendance
A couple more arrival pictures from earlier.
Lewis Cook of Bournemouth was joined by his girlfriend for the dinner.
Ryan Sessegnon has also been accompanied by his partner.
(Image: PA)
(Image: PA)
20:31
A look inside the room
Here’s a quick look at the stunning room, which will be full of top footballers this evening.
The Grosvenor House is a truly spectacular venue.
20:11
Dinner begins for the early arrivals
The actual awards ceremony will not start for a short while yet.
There is the small case of dinner to be served first!
Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, has addressed the early arrivals on the stage.
(Image: PA)
(Image: PA)
20:07
Southgate checks in
England boss Gareth Southgate is at Grosvenor House, too.
He’ll have had a close eye on all the talent this season as he gets his squad set for the World Cup.
Harry Kane is up for the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards.
20:03
Salah is in the house!
Here comes Liverpool’s main man.
Flanked by his captain, Jordan Henderson, he will be hoping to leave tonight with the top award.
He’s had plenty of time to get to London after Liverpool’s game with West Brom yesterday.
19:51KEY EVENT
ICYMI: PFA Team of the Year announced
Five Manchester City players have been included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
The league champions are by far the most represented team in the squad, which is also made up of players from Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Among City’s inclusions is striker Sergio Aguero, who has unbelievably made it into the team for the very first time in his career.
He is joined by Nicolas Otamendi, Kyle Walker, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, who is also in the running for Player of the Year gong.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is also in contention for the top prize and is his side’s only inclusion in the team, which is voted for by other top flight players.
Tottenham have three players named in Jan Vertonghan, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane.
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea and Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso make up the rest of the team.
All the players will collect their awards tonight at Grosvenor House in London, where the other award winners will be named.
(Image: PFA/Twitter)
