Liverpool’s Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah has been crowned the men’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year at the 45th PFA Awards in London.
The mesmeric Egyptian forward has taken the Premier League by storm this season, leaving a trail of despairing defenders in his wake. He has played the starring role in Liverpool’s dynamic front three and his eye-popping goal-scoring form makes him the clear favourite for the Golden Boot.
Salah sometimes looks to be playing the game on fast forward. From his time at Chelsea, fans of the Premier League were in no doubt about Salah’s electric pace and dribbling ability, but even his most enthusiastic admirers could not have predicted quite how goal-laden his season would become.
It is rare that players with Salah’s skill-set have the end product to match, but the Egyptian has it in buckets and has been simply irrepressible for an exciting Liverpool team this term. At the time of writing he is four clear in the Premier League goal-scoring charts and has also provided an impressive nine assists for his team-mates, with his Champions League form equally spectacular.
The 25-year-old came out on top of a six-man shortlist, voted for by PFA members from the 92 Premier League and Football League teams, that also included league title winners in Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane and David Silva.
Sane did, however, win the Young Player of the Year award while Fran Kirby of Chelsea Ladies was named women’s Player of the Year at London’s Grosvenor House hotel.
Manchester City winger Leroy Sané has been crowned the Men’s PFA Young Player of the Year in association with Forever Hope Foundation at the 45th PFA Awards in London.
The German winger has been unplayable at times this season for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side, with his electric pace, invention and ability to exercise extreme close control while running at speed, leaving many a Premier League defence trailing in his wake.
Sané has been one of many success stories in City’s dominance across the board this season, but the tricky winger has stood out for his ability to unlock stubborn opposition defences and drive to the by-line.
A lithe figure most commonly deployed on City’s left wing, Essen-born Sané began footballing life at German club SG Wattenscheid 09, for whom his father also played. He played for Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga before signing for City in August 2016 and was shortlisted for PFA Young Player of the Year in his debut season.
Chelsea and England forward Fran Kirby has been crowned the women’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year in association with Sodexo at the 45th PFA Awards in London.
The player nicknamed ‘mini-Messi’ has overcome adversity to impress again this year by banging in the goals for Chelsea and England, including a strike against France in the recent SheBelieves Cup.
Hailed as a ‘mini-Messi’ by former Lionesses coach Mark Sampson, Kirby was the top scorer in the 2017 Spring Series as Chelsea topped the league.
Bristol City’s teenage forward Lauren Hemp has been crowned the women’s PFA Young Player of the Year in association with Sodexo at the 45th PFA Awards in London.
Fiery, fleet-footed and scoring goals for fun, Lauren Hemp is sure to be a name on the lips of WSL1 pundits for many years to come.
The exciting forward broke into the Bristol City side in 2016, scoring on her debut when she came on as a substitute against Yeovil.
Former West Bromwich Albion and England striker Cyrille Regis MBE has won the PFA’s Merit Award posthumously, recognising his immense contribution to the game at the 45th PFA Awards in London.
Cyrille Regis: 1958-2018
Mention Cyrille Regis and inevitably the first image that springs to mind will be that spectacular Goal of the Season for West Bromwich Albion against Norwich City in the 1982 FA Cup. Cushioning a chipped ball on his chest, his second touch saw him spin on his heels and leave his marker flailing hopelessly before powering a devastating finish into the roof of the net. It was both extraordinary and, in a sense, routine – the archetypal Regis combination of poise, pace and power.
His most potent and celebrated years came as the fulcrum of the West Brom outfit who finished third and fourth in the First Division during his time at the club between 1977 and 1984. He scored 112 times in his 297 appearances for the club in all competitions, including a brace on his first-team debut against Rotherham in the League Cup. He conceded that there was “just a little sadness that we didn’t win anything” at West Brom, but fondly remembered the “great years” he spent there. With players such as Regis, Laurie Cunningham, Brendon Batson and Bryan Robson in the side, West Brom played an exciting, dynamic brand of football and were capable of beating the very best on their day.
Former Liverpool, Arsenal and England defender Casey Stoney MBE has won the PFA Special Achievement Award.
Earlier this year Casey Stoney departed her role at the PFA after being headhunted for Phil Neville’s England Lionesses coaching team. Her legacy, both as a player and off-field figurehead, is an important one for the women’s game.
