Kevin De Bruyne has won the Professional Footballers’ Association’s (PFA) Player of the Year award.
De Bruyne, who controls the midfield at Manchester City, fend off teammate Raheem Sterling, Liverpool quartet of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk to become the first Manchester City player to win the individual award.
The 29-year-old midfielder won the 2019/20 prize on Tuesday after being voted for by his fellow professionals.
The PFA Player of the Year award recognises De Bruyne’s sustained excellence last season, which also saw him named in the PFA’s Team of the Year for the second time.
And the Belgian playmaker was excited.
“It is a big honour,” he said at the virtual ceremony.
“To be voted by your colleagues, your competitors from other teams who we play against on the field is amazing.
“It is maybe strange that I’m the first one at City, with all the good players who played there before and are still playing, but it is nice to represent the Club.
“I think it is [the ultimate honour] because you compete against them [fellow professionals].
“They want to win the trophies; they want to be the best. It is everybody voting, not a few players, so that means you have done really well in the season.”
