Man City star Phil Foden named Player of the Year beating Declan Rice and Rodri to top award after stunning season
PHIL FODEN has been rewarded for his outstanding season by being named Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers Association.
The Manchester City midfielder has scored 24 goals to help put his boyhood club on course for a Premier League and FA Cup double.
And his efforts were recognised by FWA members – as he earned 42 per cent of the vote to scoop the prestigious award.
His England team-mate Declan Rice, who has enjoyed an excellent first campaign at Arsenal, was second.
Meanwhile Foden’s fellow City star Rodri – who has not lost a game with the club in 15 months – was third.
Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard, Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa and Chelsea’s summer signing Cole Palmer made up the top six.
But Foden is the third player from the Etihad to receive the FWA award, which Sir Stanley Matthews first won in 1948, in the last four years after Ruben Dias in 2021 and Erling Haaland last season.
He said: “Being named the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year is a huge honour.
“I’m very, very happy to receive this award but I could not have done it without the help of my team-mates.
“We have a very special squad of players at City, and I’m privileged to be a part of that group.
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“I want to thank all my team-mates as well as Pep and the coaches for all the support and advice they have given me.
“I strive to be the best that I can be every single day and that is all down to the way the manager and my colleagues always seek to improve and get better.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for me as well as my fellow nominees.”
It is also a double celebration for City as forward Khadija Shaw was named Women’s Footballer of the Year by the association.
The Jamaican, 27, and Chelsea’s Lauren James dominated a record vote – receiving 80 per cent between them.
But it was Shaw who edged it – becoming the first City player to win since Nikita Paris in 2019.
And the news will be a welcome tonic for her as earlier this week she had surgery on a broken foot which will rule her out for the remainder of the season.
But she still looks set to finish as the WSL’s top scorer as Gareth Taylor’s side close in on the league title.
Three of her club mates also finished in the top six with Alex Greenwood third, Yui Hasegawa fourth and Khiara Keating in sixth.
Brighton’s Norwegian striker Elisabeth Terland broke up the sequence by finishing fifth.
Shaw said: “I am very proud and privileged to have received this award and to be recognised in this way is a special honour.
“I want to also thank all of my team-mates. They provide me with the chances to score goals and I could not have won this award without them.
“I also owe such a lot to Gareth, the rest of the coaching team and everyone else here at City. It’s a pleasure to be part of such a special group.
“Many thanks to all who voted for me and to my fellow nominees. It means such a lot to have won this award.
“Hopefully the side can now finish off the season in style and give everyone special cause to celebrate.”
It is the first time in five years that a City player has won both the men’s and women’s award.
Last time it happened was 2019 when Paris and Raheem Sterling topped the votes.
A total of 18 players got votes in the men’s section.
The others were: Virgil Van Dijk, Mo Salah, Bukayo Saka, Bruno Guimares, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, John McGinn, Ross Barkley, Alexis Mac Allister, Diogo Dalot, Son Heung Min and Jarrod Bowen.
Meanwhile, the other players to get votes for the women’s award were: Erin Cuthbert, Sjoeke Nusken, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, Ella Toone, Katie McCabe, Ashleigh Neville,
Millie Turner, Niamh Charles, Fuka Nagano, Taylor Hinds and Jess Carter.
Both winners will be honoured at the Footballer of the Year dinner in London on Thursday May 16.
