Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson, saw off stiff competition from Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, as well as team-mates, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane, to claim the FWA Footballer of the Year award.
Liverpool’s dominance in the league was also 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 was the clear winner.
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 team-mates – 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 Footballer 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.
At 30, having added a Premier League title to the Champions League trophy he lifted in June, Henderson is emerging as one of the most decorated captains in Liverpool’s recent history. He, more than any other player, has been the driving force behind their success.
Henderson is now FWA Footballer of the Year and his importance to Liverpool is universally acknowledged. But before all this, he had to withstand years of near-relentless criticism.
Henderson has been doubted and disparaged like few others. His move to Liverpool in 2011 was met with mockery. He was not up to it, they said. Overpriced and not good enough for England either. In his 2013 autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson even questioned his running style.
There were plenty who doubted he would ever achieve that status. Plenty who would have scoffed at the very thought of it, but Henderson was not one of them.