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PFA Players' Player of the Year

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 Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, who is also the first player to have won the award three times.[3]

Key Information

The first winner of the award was Leeds United defender Norman Hunter. As of 2025, only Mohamed Salah has won the award on three occasions, and only Henry, Ronaldo and De Bruyne have won the award in consecutive seasons. Of the seven, only Shearer won his two awards playing for different teams. Although there is a separate PFA Young Player of the Year award, 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, 2021–22 and 2024–25.

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.[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

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The award has been presented on 52 occasions as of 2025, with 44 different winners.[8][9][10][11] The women's award has been presented since 2013, with nine different winners.[12] 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),[13] the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY),[14] the PFA Young Player of the Year award (YPY),[9][10][15] the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS),[16] the Premier League Young Player of the Season award (PYS) and the Football Supporters’ Federation Player of the Year award (FSF).[17]

Mohamed Salah has the most Player of the Year awards, with three.
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 [18]
1976–77 Scotland Andy Gray Aston Villa YPY [19]
1977–78 England Peter Shilton Nottingham Forest
1978–79 Republic of Ireland Liam Brady Arsenal [20]
1979–80 England Terry McDermott Liverpool FWA [21]
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 [22]
1991–92 England Gary Pallister Manchester United
1992–93 Republic of Ireland Paul McGrath Aston Villa
1993–94 France Eric Cantona Manchester United [23]
1994–95 England Alan Shearer Blackburn Rovers PPS
1995–96 England Les Ferdinand Newcastle United
1996–97 England Alan Shearer (2) Newcastle United [24]
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 [25]
2003–04 France Thierry Henry (2) Arsenal FWA, FPY, PPS [26]
2004–05 England John Terry Chelsea
2005–06 England Steven Gerrard Liverpool
2006–07 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United FWA, FPY, YPY, PPS [27]
2007–08 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (2) Manchester United FWA, FPY, PPS [28]
2008–09 Wales Ryan Giggs Manchester United [29]
2009–10 England Wayne Rooney Manchester United FWA, FPY, PPS [11]
2010–11 Wales Gareth Bale Tottenham Hotspur [30]
2011–12 Netherlands Robin van Persie Arsenal FWA, FPY [31]
2012–13 Wales Gareth Bale (2) Tottenham Hotspur FWA, YPY, PPS [32]
2013–14 Uruguay Luis Suárez Liverpool FWA, FPY, PPS, FSF [33]
2014–15 Belgium Eden Hazard Chelsea FWA, PPS [34]
2015–16 Algeria Riyad Mahrez Leicester City FPY [35]
2016–17 France N'Golo Kanté Chelsea FWA, PPS [36]
2017–18 Egypt Mohamed Salah Liverpool FWA, FPY, PPS, FSF [37]
2018–19 Netherlands Virgil van Dijk Liverpool PPS, FSF [38]
2019–20 Belgium Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City PPS [39]
2020–21 Belgium Kevin De Bruyne (2) Manchester City [40]
2021–22 Egypt Mohamed Salah (2) Liverpool FWA, FPY [41]
2022–23 Norway Erling Haaland Manchester City FWA, FPY, PPS, PYS [42]
2023–24 England Phil Foden Manchester City FWA, PPS [43]
2024–25 Egypt Mohamed Salah (3) Liverpool FWA, FPY, PPS [3]

Breakdown of winners

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By country

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Winners of the PFA Players' Player of the Year by country
Country Number of wins Winning years
England
19
 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, 2023–24
Wales
6
 1983–84, 1988–89, 1990–91, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
France
5
 1993–94, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2016–17
Netherlands
4
 1997–98, 2001–02, 2011–12, 2018–19
Scotland
3
 1976–77, 1980–81, 1982–83
Republic of Ireland
3
 1978–79, 1992–93, 1999–2000
Egypt
3
 2017–18, 2021–22, 2024–25
Belgium
3
 2014–15, 2019–20, 2020–21
Portugal
2
 2006–07, 2007–08
Northern Ireland
1
 1975–76
Uruguay
1
 2013–14
Algeria
1
 2015–16
Norway
1
 2022–23

By club

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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
10
 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 2005–06, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2024–25
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
Manchester City
4
 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24
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
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

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References

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