FWA Footballer of the Year

This article is about the men's award. For the women's award, see FWA Women's Footballer of the Year.

FWA Footballer of the Year

Mohamed Salah won the award in 2025.
Sport	Association football
Competition	All levels of English football
Country	England and Wales
Presented by	FWA
History
First award	1947–48
Editions	77
First winner	Stanley Matthews
Most wins	Mohamed Salah Thierry Henry (3 awards each)
Most recent	Mohamed Salah
Website	footballwriters.co.uk/awards

The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football. ^[1] The award has been presented since the 1947–48 season, with the inaugural winner being Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews. The latest winner of the award as of 2024–25 is Mohamed Salah of Liverpool. Nine players have won the award on more than one occasion, with Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah having won the award on the most occasions, with three wins each.

The winner is selected by a vote amongst the members of the Football Writers' Association (FWA), which comprises around 400 football journalists based throughout England. ^[2] The award was instigated at the suggestion of Charles Buchan, a former professional footballer turned journalist and one of the Association's founders. ^[3]

Winners

The award has been presented on 77 occasions as of 2025, to 68 players. On one occasion two players shared the award for a season. ^[4] 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 Professional Footballers' Association's Players' Player of the Year award (PPY), ^{[5] [6] [7]} Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY), ^[8] the Young Player of the Year award (YPY), ^{[6] [7] [9]} the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS), ^[10] the Premier League Young Player of the Season award (PYPS), ^[10] and the Football Supporters' Association Player of the Year (FSA). ^{[11] [12]}

Neville Southall's 1985 win was the last time a goalkeeper received the award.

Dennis Bergkamp won the award in the 1997–98 season.

Thierry Henry was the first player to win the award in two consecutive seasons.

Cristiano Ronaldo also won the award consecutively, in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons.

Steven Gerrard won the award in 2009, becoming the first Liverpool player to do so for nineteen years.

Winners of the FWA Footballer of the Year

Year		Player	Club	Also won	Notes
1947–48		Stanley Matthews	Blackpool
1948–49		Johnny Carey	Manchester United		[13]
1949–50		Joe Mercer	Arsenal
1950–51		Harry Johnston	Blackpool
1951–52		Billy Wright	Wolverhampton Wanderers
1952–53		Nat Lofthouse	Bolton Wanderers
1953–54		Tom Finney	Preston North End
1954–55		Don Revie	Manchester City
1955–56		Bert Trautmann	Manchester City		[14]
1956–57		Tom Finney (2)	Preston North End		[15]
1957–58		Danny Blanchflower	Tottenham Hotspur
1958–59		Syd Owen	Luton Town
1959–60		Bill Slater	Wolverhampton Wanderers
1960–61		Danny Blanchflower (2)	Tottenham Hotspur
1961–62		Jimmy Adamson	Burnley
1962–63		Stanley Matthews (2)	Stoke City		[16]
1963–64		Bobby Moore	West Ham United
1964–65		Bobby Collins	Leeds United
1965–66		Bobby Charlton	Manchester United
1966–67		Jack Charlton	Leeds United
1967–68		George Best	Manchester United
1968–69		Tony Book Dave Mackay	Manchester City Derby County
1969–70		Billy Bremner	Leeds United
1970–71		Frank McLintock	Arsenal
1971–72		Gordon Banks	Stoke City
1972–73		Pat Jennings	Tottenham Hotspur		[17]
1973–74		Ian Callaghan	Liverpool
1974–75		Alan Mullery	Fulham
1975–76		Kevin Keegan	Liverpool
1976–77		Emlyn Hughes	Liverpool
1977–78		Kenny Burns	Nottingham Forest
1978–79		Kenny Dalglish	Liverpool
1979–80		Terry McDermott	Liverpool	PPY	[18]
1980–81		Frans Thijssen	Ipswich Town
1981–82		Steve Perryman	Tottenham Hotspur
1982–83		Kenny Dalglish (2)	Liverpool	PPY
1983–84		Ian Rush	Liverpool	PPY
1984–85		Neville Southall	Everton
1985–86		Gary Lineker	Everton	PPY
1986–87		Clive Allen	Tottenham Hotspur	PPY
1987–88		John Barnes	Liverpool	PPY
1988–89		Steve Nicol	Liverpool
1989–90		John Barnes (2)	Liverpool
1990–91		Gordon Strachan	Leeds United
1991–92		Gary Lineker (2)	Tottenham Hotspur
1992–93		Chris Waddle	Sheffield Wednesday
1993–94		Alan Shearer	Blackburn Rovers
1994–95		Jürgen Klinsmann	Tottenham Hotspur
1995–96		Eric Cantona	Manchester United
1996–97		Gianfranco Zola	Chelsea
1997–98		Dennis Bergkamp	Arsenal	PPY
1998–99		David Ginola	Tottenham Hotspur	PPY
1999–2000		Roy Keane	Manchester United	PPY
2000–01		Teddy Sheringham	Manchester United	PPY
2001–02		Robert Pires	Arsenal
2002–03		Thierry Henry	Arsenal	PPY, FPY
2003–04		Thierry Henry (2)	Arsenal	PPY, FPY, PPS	[19]
2004–05		Frank Lampard	Chelsea	FPY, PPS	[20]
2005–06		Thierry Henry (3)	Arsenal	PPS	[21]
2006–07		Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	PPY, FPY, YPY, PPS	[22]
2007–08		Cristiano Ronaldo (2)	Manchester United	PPY, FPY, PPS
2008–09		Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	FPY	[23]
2009–10		Wayne Rooney	Manchester United	PPY, FPY, PPS	[24]
2010–11		Scott Parker	West Ham United		[25]
2011–12		Robin van Persie	Arsenal	PPY, FPY	[26]
2012–13		Gareth Bale	Tottenham Hotspur	PPY, YPY, PPS	[27]
2013–14		Luis Suárez	Liverpool	PPY, FPY, PPS, FSA	[11]
2014–15		Eden Hazard	Chelsea	PPY, PPS	[28]
2015–16		Jamie Vardy	Leicester City	PPS	[29]
2016–17		N'Golo Kanté	Chelsea	PPY, PPS	[30]
2017–18		Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	PPY, FPY, PPS, FSA	[31]
2018–19		Raheem Sterling	Manchester City	YPY	[32]
2019–20		Jordan Henderson	Liverpool		[33]
2020–21		Rúben Dias	Manchester City	PPS	[34]
2021–22		Mohamed Salah (2)	Liverpool	PPY, FPY	[35]
2022–23		Erling Haaland	Manchester City	PPY, PPS, PYPS	[36]
2023–24		Phil Foden	Manchester City	PPY, PPS	[37]
2024–25		Mohamed Salah (3)	Liverpool	PPY, PPS	[38]

Breakdown of winners

By country

The trophy awarded to the Footballer of the Year from 2015 onwards

Winners of the FWA Footballer of the Year by country

Country	Number of wins	Winning years
England	39	1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69 ‡, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2023-24
Scotland	9	1964–65, 1968–69 ‡, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1988–89, 1990–91
France	7	1995–96, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2016–17
Northern Ireland	4	1957–58, 1960–61, 1967–68, 1972–73
Netherlands	3	1980–81, 1997–98, 2011–12
Wales	3	1983–84, 1984–85, 2012–13
Portugal	3	2006–07, 2007–08, 2020–21
Egypt	3	2017–18, 2021–22, 2024–25
West Germany / Germany	2	1955–56, 1994–95
Republic of Ireland	2	1948–49, 1999–2000
Italy	1	1996–97
Uruguay	1	2013–14
Belgium	1	2014–15
Norway	1	2022–23

‡ — two winners

Winners by club

Winners of the FWA Footballer of the Year by club

Club	Number of wins	Winning years
Liverpool	16	1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2024–25
Tottenham Hotspur	9	1957–58, 1960–61, 1972–73, 1981–82, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2012–13
Manchester United	9	1948–49, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10
Arsenal	8	1949–50, 1970–71, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2011–12
Manchester City	7	1954–55, 1955–56, 1968–69 ‡, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023-24
Leeds United	4	1964–65, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1990–91
Chelsea	4	1996–97, 2004–05, 2014–15, 2016–17
Everton	2	1984–85, 1985–86
Stoke City	2	1962–63, 1971–72
Wolverhampton Wanderers	2	1951–52, 1959–60
Preston North End	2	1953–54, 1956–57
Blackpool	2	1947–48, 1950–51
West Ham United	2	1963–64, 2010–11
Leicester City	1	2015–16
Blackburn Rovers	1	1993–94
Sheffield Wednesday	1	1992–93
Ipswich Town	1	1980–81
Nottingham Forest	1	1977–78
Fulham	1	1974–75
Derby County	1	1968–69 ‡
Burnley	1	1961–62
Luton Town	1	1958–59
Bolton Wanderers	1	1952–53

See also

• Premier League Player of the Season
• PFA Players' Player of the Year
• SPFA Players' Player of the Year
• SFWA Footballer of the Year
• PFAI Players' Player of the Year

References

1. "England Player Honours – Football Writers' Association Footballers of the Year". England Football Online. 19 June 2007. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
2. "About the FWA". Football Writers' Association. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
3. "FWA Footballer of the Year Award". Football Writers' Association. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
4. "England – Players Awards". RSSSF . 4 October 2007. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
5. "Only here for the peers". BBC Sport. 20 April 2001. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
6. "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC Sport. 23 April 2006. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
7. "Ronaldo secures PFA awards double". BBC Sport. 22 April 2007. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
8. "PFA's Official Fan's Player of the Year: Previous Winners". The Professional Footballers' Association. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
9. Frank Keogh (20 April 2001). "Too much too young?". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 9 July 2003. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
10. "Premier League Awards, All Time Awards". Premier League.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
11. "Luis Suárez wins Football Writers' Association Player of the Year award". The Guardian. 5 May 2014. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
12. "Winners: FSF Awards in association with William Hill". Football Supporters' Association. 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
13. First winner of the award from outside the United Kingdom.
14. First Goalkeeper and first player from outside the British Isles to win the award.
15. First player to win the award twice.
16. First player to win the award with two clubs.
17. Also won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award in 1976 to become the first player to win both awards.
18. First player to win both PFA and FWA awards in the same season.
19. First player to win the award in two consecutive seasons.
20. "Lampard scoops award from writers". BBC Sport. 6 May 2005. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
21. First player to win the award three times.
22. First player to win five awards in the same season.
23. "Steven Gerrard wins Footballer of the Year award". The Times. London. 13 May 2009. Archived from the original on 16 May 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
24. "Wayne Rooney nets writers' player of the year award". BBC Sport. 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
25. "West Ham's Scott Parker wins Football Writers' award". BBC Sport. 22 April 2011. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
26. "Arsenal's Robin van Persie named FWA Footballer of the Year". BBC Sport. 24 April 2012. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
27. "Bale named FWA Footballer of the Year". Football Writers' Association. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
28. "Eden Hazard wins Football Writers' Association Player of the Year award". Sky Sports. 12 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
29. "Jamie Vardy named Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 2015/16". Sky Sports. 2 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
30. "N'Golo Kante wins Football Writers' Association award". BBC Sport. 8 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
31. "Mohamed Salah named writers' Footballer of the Year". BBC Sport. 1 May 2018. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
32. "Virgil van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema win PFA Player of the Year awards". BBC Sport. 29 April 2019. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
33. "Jordan Henderson wins football writers' award". Daily Mirror. 24 July 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
34. "Ruben Dias: Manchester City Defender named FWA Footballer of the Year". Sky Sports. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
35. "Mohamed Salah named Football Writers' Association Men's Footballer of the Year for 2021/22". Sky Sports. 29 April 2022. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
36. "Erling Haaland named Football Writers' Association Men's Footballer of the Year for 2022/23 | Chelsea's Sam Kerr wins Women's award". Sky Sports. 12 May 2023. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
37. "Phil Foden named Football Writers' Association Men's Footballer of the Year for 2023/24 |". Sky Sports. 3 May 2024. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
38. "FWA Footballer of the Year 2024/25: Mohamed Salah wins top men's gong as Alessia Russo claims women's award". Sky Sports. 9 May 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2025.

External links

• Football Writers' Association Archived 17 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine