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Liverpool’s Mo Salah has been voted the men’s Player of the Year in a poll of 400,000 supporters, after netting 32 goals and counting, in all club competitions this calendar year.
The Reds ace was named the nation’s best performer in 2021 at the Football Supporters’ Association Awards on Monday.
Salah held off competition from Chelsea’s Mason Mount, Man City pair Phil Foden and Rúben Dias, West Ham United’s Michail Antonio and Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans to claim the gong.
The award comes during another extraordinary campaign for the Egypt international, in which he has already scored 17 goals in 18 Premier League and Champions League appearances for Liverpool.
Last season, Salah, 29, netted 31 times in league and cup matches.
Salah is the fourth Liverpool player to scoop the award in 11 years and the first to win the award on two occasions.
It adds to an extraordinary list of personal achievements, with 50 awards already stuffed into his trophy cabinet and that’s before one adds the player and goal of the month accolades and the Premier League, Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup winning medals he has claimed with Liverpool.
‘There’s no doubt Mohamed is having another incredible year, the number and quality of his goals have once again lit up English football and contributed to Liverpool’s title push,’ said Kevin Miles, chief executive of the Football Supporters’ Association.
‘As well as his on-field ability, Mohamed’s character has won support from fans across the game and he was a clear favourite among the voting public.’
Salah thanked fans for their votes and said he was ‘honoured’ to have bagged the trophy twice.
Previous winners of the FSA men’s Player of the Year award include, Bruno Fernandes, Virgil van Dijk and Harry Kane.
The women’s Player of the Award was won by Arsenal’s centre-forward Vivianne Miedema the third year in a row that the Dutch forward has won the popular vote.
Miedema, who is both the Netherlands and Women’s Super League all-time leading goal scorer, beat Chelsea pair Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr, as well as Ellen White, Ella Toone and Kim Little to the title.
The 25-year-old broke the record for most goals scored at a single Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020 and she has already scored 13 goals for the Gunners this season, while becoming the first player in the WSL to score against every team she has faced.
It was a big day for the striker, who also scooped the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2021 award, yesterday.
‘It’s a bit unexpected to be honest,’ Miedema told BBC Sport.
‘It’s pretty cool to win something like this, and with the fans voting it’s extra special.’
Meanwhile, Alex Scott picked up the trophy for the FSA’s Pundit of the Year for the first time becoming the first woman to win the award beating previous winners Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville. In total 10 categories were open to a public vote.
The FSA run their awards in partnership with GambleAware, which is encouraging fans who gamble on football to ‘tap out & take a moment’ before making a bet.
‘Our partnership with the FSA is an important one as we work together to keep football fans and players safe from gambling harms,’ said the chief executive Zoe Osmond.
‘We offer our congratulations to all the winners and shortlisted nominees in this year’s awards who have enthralled and entertained supporters across this season.’
Vincent Paul
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