Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City and Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United are among the nominees for the Professional Footballers’ Association men’s player of the year award, which also includes a trio of Liverpool players.Â
The three Reds players on the list are forwards Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, as well as centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Tottenham’s Harry Kane is also nominated, while Son Heung-min, the league’s equal top scorer, is not.
The winner will be announced on June 9th.Premier League winner De Bruyne was City’s top scorer and assist provider this season with 15 goals and eight assists. He has already been voted the 2021-22 Premier League player of the season.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool dominate the list having won two domestic cups, come within one point of winning the Premier League and reached the Champions League final, only to lose to Real Madrid.
Salah, the league’s joint top scorer along with Spurs’ Son, scored 23 times and he also ended the campaign with 13 assists, which saw him secure the Premier League’s playmaker award.
Mane was Liverpool’s second highest scorer with 16.
Netherlands captain Van Dijk helped the Reds concede only 26 goals in 38 league games, the joint least with champions City.
Kane was last season’s Golden Boot winner, sharing the award with Salah, and it comes as a surprise that the England skipper, who scored 17 goals this year, makes the shortlist rather than Spurs’ top scorer Son.
Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo is perhaps another unexpected name in the nominations after Manchester United finished sixth, 13 points off Champions League qualification.
However, bar Son and Salah, Ronaldo was the Premier League’s top scorer with 18.
