Revealed: The top six stars in the FWA Footballer of the Year voting as Phil Foden is crowned the winner – with just TWO foreign players included
Manchester City and England star Phil Foden has been crowned the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year with 42 percent of the vote.
Foden, 23, has had his best season yet amid City’s pursuit of an astonishing fourth consecutive Premier League title, becoming Pep Guardiola’s most important player with 24 goals and ten assists in all competitions with five more competitions to go.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice finished second in the voting behind Foden, while his Manchester City teammate Rodri came third.
Gunners captain Martin Odegaard and Aston Villa hitman Ollie Watkins finished fourth and fifth respectively, followed by Cole Palmer in sixth.
Foden completed a double for City as Bunny Shaw was named winner of the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year.
Man City’s Phil Foden has been crowned Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association
Foden takes over from Erling Haaland (left), who won the honor in his stellar debut season with Manchester City last season, breaking the Premier League goals record in a single season
Foden has played an important role for City this season, scoring 24 goals in all competitions so far
23-year-old Foden steers Pep Guardiola’s team towards a record fourth consecutive Premier League win
City star Bunny Shaw won the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year award after a fantastic season
England international Foden hopes to cap his fantastic season with two domestic trophies, with City in control of the Premier League title race against Arsenal and favorites against rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final at the end of the month.
His teammate Erling Haaland claimed the historic accolade last season after breaking the Premier League scoring record with 36 goals in his debut season at the Etihad, while Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah won FWA Footballer of the Year in 2021-2022.
Foden becomes the first Englishman to win the award since 2020, when former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson earned the honor by guiding the Reds to a first league title in 30 years.
During his exclusive interview with Mail Sport last month, Foden admitted he wants to be regarded as one of the best players in England and achieve individual honors as a result.
“I hope I’m in the conversation,” said the City star when asked about the prospect of winning individual trophies.
‘I’m not going to lie. I want to be one of the best Premier League players this season. I think I have the ability.”
Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Friday that Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot, Luton summer star Ross Barkley and Villa midfielder John McGinn were among the surprise names to earn at least one vote in this season’s FWA Footballer of the Year voting.
Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka, Bruno Guimaraes, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Alexis Mac Allister, Son Heung-min and Jarrod Bowen completed the list of those set to vote.
Rice and Odegaard have been crucial players for Arsenal this season and could bring the club’s first Premier League title since 2004 to north London if Man City drops points.
Meanwhile, only Haaland has scored more goals than Chelsea’s Palmer, who has 20 so far compared to the Norwegian’s 21.
And of those vying for the Premier League Golden Boot, only Watkins has scored more without penalties than Foden this season, with the Aston Villa striker netting 19 from open play, compared to his 16.
By comparison, during Manchester City’s Treble-winning campaign last season, Foden scored eight Premier League goals, with just 15 of those coming in all competitions.
Jordan Henderson won the award in 2020 after guiding Liverpool to the league title
United defender Diogo Dalot was one of the surprise names to receive at least one vote this year
City will face Wolves, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham in their final four Premier League games this season, with league leaders Arsenal currently one point ahead after playing an extra game against the reigning champions.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal face a showdown between Bournemouth, Manchester United and Everton on the final day of the season.
Shaw, 27, won the women’s award after a fantastic season for City. The Jamaican international was a vital part of her team’s push towards the WSL title, scoring 21 league goals.
She defeated Chelsea’s Lauren James, with the pair securing 80 percent of what was a record number of votes for the Women’s Footballer of the Year.
Shaw’s teammates Alex Greenwood and Yui Hasegawa finished third and fourth.
“I am very proud and privileged to have received this award and to be recognized in this way is a special honor. I also want to thank all my teammates,” Shaw said.
‘They offer me the opportunities to score goals and without them I could not have won this award.
‘I also owe so much to Gareth, the rest of the coaching team and everyone else here at City. It is a pleasure to be part of such a special group.
‘Thank you very much to all who voted for me and to my fellow nominees. It means a lot that we won this award. Hopefully the team can now end the season in style and give everyone a special reason to celebrate.’