Football: Kevin De Bruyne crowned PFA player of the year, Phil Foden named young player of the year
Follow UsStory highlights
Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne has been named PFA Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. The Belgian midfielder has retained the award following another outstanding campaign in which he claimed his third Premier League title and fifth Carabao Cup during his time in Manchester.
Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne has been named PFA Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. The Belgian midfielder has retained the award following another outstanding campaign in which he claimed his third Premier League title and fifth Carabao Cup during his time in Manchester.
Whereas, Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has been named PFA Young Player of the Year. The 21-year-old becomes the fourth City player to win the prestigious award, following in the footsteps of Peter Barnes, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling. He was also one of four City players shortlisted for the PFA’s senior award and was only yesterday named the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season.
Voted for by his fellow professionals, De Bruyne’s 10 goals and 18 assists played a crucial role in the Cityzens’ double-winning season and also led them to a first UEFA Champions League final in the Club’s history.
The 29-year-old, who pledged four more years to the Club by signing a new contract in April, fought off competition from a trio of City teammates to secure the award.
Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and Ruben Dias were also shortlisted for the prestigious award, alongside Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane.
De Bruyne’s latest accolade sees him become only the third player in history to win the award back-to-back, a feat he shares with Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo. He was also one of six City players named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
De Bruyne said: “Obviously you want to win all of the trophies with your team, but when you win a trophy like this, this is probably the most important one as an individual in the league. It’s great to be recognised by your competitors who you compete with every game.
“Everybody knows that I am really happy here and we have been competing for every trophy. That suits my competitive nature. The team has been unbelievable, they push me to my best level every day and I am happy to contribute to that.
“It is my job to push them every day to get better and better and to be there every game, that is what I am trying to do.”