PFA Players' Player of the Year

Ryan Giggs won the award in 2009 for the first time after almost two decades playing for Manchester United.

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 first winner of the award was Leeds United defender Norman Hunter. The current holder is Wayne Rooney of Manchester United. As of 2010, only Mark Hughes, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo have won the award on two occasions, and only Henry and Ronaldo have won the award in consecutive seasons. Of the four, 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 two occasions the same player has won both awards for a season, Andy Gray in 1976–77 and Ronaldo in 2006–07.

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 37 occasions as of 2010, with 33 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] and the PFA Young Player of the Year award (YPY).^[8][9][13]

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.

Year		Player	Club	Also won	Notes
1973–74	ENG !	Hunter, NormanNorman Hunter	Leeds United
1974–75	ENG !	Todd, ColinColin Todd	Derby County
1975–76	NIR !	Jennings, PatPat Jennings	Tottenham Hotspur		[14]
1976–77	SCO !	Gray, AndyAndy Gray	Aston Villa	YPY	[15]
1977–78	ENG !	Shilton, PeterPeter Shilton	Nottingham Forest
1978–79	IRE !	Brady, LiamLiam Brady	Arsenal		[16]
1979–80	ENG !	McDermott, TerryTerry McDermott	Liverpool	FWA	[17]
1980–81	SCO !	Wark, JohnJohn Wark	Ipswich Town
1981–82	ENG !	Keegan, KevinKevin Keegan	Southampton
1982–83	SCO !	Dalglish, KennyKenny Dalglish	Liverpool	FWA
1983–84	WAL !	Rush, IanIan Rush	Liverpool	FWA
1984–85	ENG !	Reid, PeterPeter Reid	Everton
1985–86	ENG !	Lineker, GaryGary Lineker	Everton	FWA
1986–87	ENG !	Allen, CliveClive Allen	Tottenham Hotspur	FWA
1987–88	ENG !	Barnes, JohnJohn Barnes	Liverpool	FWA
1988–89	WAL !	Hughes, MarkMark Hughes	Manchester United
1989–90	ENG !	Platt, DavidDavid Platt	Aston Villa
1990–91	WAL !	Hughes, MarkMark Hughes	Manchester United		[18]
1991–92	ENG !	Pallister, GaryGary Pallister	Manchester United
1992–93	IRE !	McGrath, PaulPaul McGrath	Aston Villa
1993–94	FRA !	Cantona, EricEric Cantona	Manchester United		[19]
1994–95	ENG !	Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer	Blackburn Rovers
1995–96	ENG !	Ferdinand, LesLes Ferdinand	Newcastle United
1996–97	ENG !	Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer	Newcastle United		[20]
1997–98	NED !	Bergkamp, DennisDennis Bergkamp	Arsenal	FWA
1998–99	FRA !	Ginola, DavidDavid Ginola	Tottenham Hotspur	FWA
1999–00	IRE !	Keane, RoyRoy Keane	Manchester United	FWA
2000–01	ENG !	Sheringham, TeddyTeddy Sheringham	Manchester United	FWA
2001–02	NED !	van Nistelrooy, RuudRuud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United	FPY
2002–03	FRA !	Henry, ThierryThierry Henry	Arsenal	FWA, FPY	[21]
2003–04	FRA !	Henry, ThierryThierry Henry	Arsenal	FWA, FPY	[22]
2004–05	ENG !	Terry, JohnJohn Terry	Chelsea
2005–06	ENG !	Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard	Liverpool
2006–07	POR !	Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	FWA, FPY, YPY	[23]
2007–08	POR !	Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	FWA, FPY	[24]
2008–09	Wales !	Giggs, RyanRyan Giggs	Manchester United		[25]
2009–10	ENG !	Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney	Manchester United	FWA, FPY	[10]

Breakdown of winners

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	4	1983–84, 1988–89, 1990–91, 2008–09
France	4	1993–94, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04
Republic of Ireland	3	1978–79, 1992–93, 1999–00
Scotland	3	1976–77, 1980–81, 1982–83
Netherlands	2	1997–98, 2001–02
Portugal	2	2006–07, 2007–08
Northern Ireland	1	1975–76

Winners by club

References

External links

• The official website of the Professional Footballers' Association