Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson has been crowned Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year for the 2019/20 season.
Henderson beat off competition from Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, team-mates Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane, to claim the honour.
Liverpool’s dominance in the league was reflected in the voting as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson Becker also received votes, but it was Henderson – with more than a quarter of the votes – who emerged top.
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Reflecting on his win, Henderson said: “I’d like to say how appreciative I am of the support of those who voted for me and the Football Writers’ Association in general.
“You only have to look at the past winners of it, a number of whom I’ve been blessed to play with here at Liverpool, like Stevie (Gerrard), Luis (Suarez) and Mo (Salah) to know how prestigious it is.
“But as grateful as I am I don’t feel like I can accept this on my own.
“I don’t feel like anything I’ve achieved this season or in fact during my whole career has been done on my own.
“I owe a lot to so many different people – but none more so than my current teammates – who have just been incredible and deserve this every bit as much as I do.
“We’ve only achieved what we’ve achieved because every single member of our squad has been brilliant. And not just in matches. Not just in producing the moments that make the headlines and the back pages but every day in training.”
Henderson became the first Liverpool captain to lift the Premier League trophy, as the Reds ended a 30-year wait for a top-flight title.
It has been a standout year for club and country for the 30-year-old, as Henderson captained Liverpool to the Champions League title in 2019, while the club also claimed the Club World Cup in December.
He was also named the England national team’s Player of the Year in January 2020.
Henderson has registered four goals and five assists in a league campaign in which Liverpool have only tasted defeat on three occasions and his instrumental contribution has now been recognised by football writers across the country.
Ten other players received votes from FWA members including last year’s winner Raheem Sterling, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Sergio Aguero, Adama Traore, Danny Ings, Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Jonny Evans.
Henderson joins Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema, who was named the FWA Women’s Player of the Year earlier this month.
A year ago it was a Manchester City double as Sterling claimed the FWA’s men’s prize and Nikita Parris was named FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year.
The Footballer of the Year trophy has been awarded since 1948 when Sir Stanley Matthews was its first recipient.
