8th September, 2020
Kevin De Bruyne beat team-mate Raheem Sterling to become the first male Manchester City player to win the Professional Footballers’ Association’s (PFA) Player of the Year award.
Liverpool quartet of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk also lost to the Belgian.
The 29-year-old midfielder won the 2019/20 prize on Tuesday after being voted for by his fellow professionals.
The prestigious 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.
“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.”
Manager Pep Guardiola led the congratulations: “To win this award is an outstanding achievement, and Kevin is so deserving of it.