PFA Players' Player of the Year

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. 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). The current holder is Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, who is also the first player to have won the award three times.

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 Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin De Bruyne have won the award in consecutive seasons. Of the seven players to have won multiple awards, only Alan 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. 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. 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", 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".

Winners

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The award has been presented on 52 occasions as of 2025, with 44 different winners. The women's award has been presented since 2013, with nine different winners. 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), the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY), the PFA Young Player of the Year award (YPY), the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS), the Premier League Young Player of the Season award (PYS) and the Football Supporters’ Federation Player of the Year award (FSF).

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.

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th></th><th>Player</th><th>Club</th><th>Also won</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1973–74</td><td></td><td>Norman Hunter</td><td>Leeds United</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1974–75</td><td></td><td>Colin Todd</td><td>Derby County</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1975–76</td><td></td><td>Pat Jennings</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1976–77</td><td></td><td>Andy Gray</td><td>Aston Villa</td><td>YPY</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1977–78</td><td></td><td>Peter Shilton</td><td>Nottingham Forest</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1978–79</td><td></td><td>Liam Brady</td><td>Arsenal</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1979–80</td><td></td><td>Terry McDermott</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1980–81</td><td></td><td>John Wark</td><td>Ipswich Town</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1981–82</td><td></td><td>Kevin Keegan</td><td>Southampton</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1982–83</td><td></td><td>Kenny Dalglish</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1983–84</td><td></td><td>Ian Rush</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1984–85</td><td></td><td>Peter Reid</td><td>Everton</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1985–86</td><td></td><td>Gary Lineker</td><td>Everton</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1986–87</td><td></td><td>Clive Allen</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1987–88</td><td></td><td>John Barnes</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1988–89</td><td></td><td>Mark Hughes</td><td>Manchester United</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1989–90</td><td></td><td>David Platt</td><td>Aston Villa</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1990–91</td><td></td><td>Mark Hughes (2)</td><td>Manchester United</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1991–92</td><td></td><td>Gary Pallister</td><td>Manchester United</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1992–93</td><td></td><td>Paul McGrath</td><td>Aston Villa</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1993–94</td><td></td><td>Eric Cantona</td><td>Manchester United</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1994–95</td><td></td><td>Alan Shearer</td><td>Blackburn Rovers</td><td>PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1995–96</td><td></td><td>Les Ferdinand</td><td>Newcastle United</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1996–97</td><td></td><td>Alan Shearer (2)</td><td>Newcastle United</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1997–98</td><td></td><td>Dennis Bergkamp</td><td>Arsenal</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1998–99</td><td></td><td>David Ginola</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1999–2000</td><td></td><td>Roy Keane</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2000–01</td><td></td><td>Teddy Sheringham</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>FWA</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001–02</td><td></td><td>Ruud van Nistelrooy</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>FPY</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2002–03</td><td></td><td>Thierry Henry</td><td>Arsenal</td><td>FWA, FPY</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2003–04</td><td></td><td>Thierry Henry (2)</td><td>Arsenal</td><td>FWA, FPY, PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2004–05</td><td></td><td>John Terry</td><td>Chelsea</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2005–06</td><td></td><td>Steven Gerrard</td><td>Liverpool</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2006–07</td><td></td><td>Cristiano Ronaldo</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>FWA, FPY, YPY, PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2007–08</td><td></td><td>Cristiano Ronaldo (2)</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>FWA, FPY, PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2008–09</td><td></td><td>Ryan Giggs</td><td>Manchester United</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2009–10</td><td></td><td>Wayne Rooney</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>FWA, FPY, PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2010–11</td><td></td><td>Gareth Bale</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2011–12</td><td></td><td>Robin van Persie</td><td>Arsenal</td><td>FWA, FPY</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2012–13</td><td></td><td>Gareth Bale (2)</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td>FWA, YPY, PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2013–14</td><td></td><td>Luis Suárez</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>FWA, FPY, PPS, FSF</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2014–15</td><td></td><td>Eden Hazard</td><td>Chelsea</td><td>FWA, PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015–16</td><td></td><td>Riyad Mahrez</td><td>Leicester City</td><td>FPY</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016–17</td><td></td><td>N'Golo Kanté</td><td>Chelsea</td><td>FWA, PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017–18</td><td></td><td>Mohamed Salah</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>FWA, FPY, PPS, FSF</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018–19</td><td></td><td>Virgil van Dijk</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>PPS, FSF</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019–20</td><td></td><td>Kevin De Bruyne</td><td>Manchester City</td><td>PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2020–21</td><td></td><td>Kevin De Bruyne (2)</td><td>Manchester City</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021–22</td><td></td><td>Mohamed Salah (2)</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>FWA, FPY</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022–23</td><td></td><td>Erling Haaland</td><td>Manchester City</td><td>FWA, FPY, PPS, PYS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2023–24</td><td></td><td>Phil Foden</td><td>Manchester City</td><td>FWA, PPS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2024–25</td><td></td><td>Mohamed Salah (3)</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>FWA, FPY, PPS</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Breakdown of winners

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

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