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The Football Writers Association has awarded PHIL FODEN Footballer of the Year in recognition of his exceptional season.
With 24 goals, the Manchester City midfielder has helped his boyhood team win both the FA Cup and the Premier League.
And FWA members recognized his efforts, as he received 42% of the vote to win the coveted honor.
Second place went to Declan Rice, his England teammate who has had a fantastic debut season at Arsenal.
Rodri, Foden’s teammate at City who hasn’t dropped a game in fifteen months, came in third.
The top six included Cole Palmer of Chelsea, Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa, and Martin Odegaard of Arsenal.
However, Foden is the third Etihad player in the last four years to win the FWA award (originally won by Sir Stanley Matthews in 1948), following Ruben Dias in 2021 and Erling Haaland in the previous campaign.
“It’s an enormous honor to be named the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year,” he stated.
“I am incredibly grateful for this award, but I could not have achieved it without the support of my teammates.”
“It is an honor to be a member of the exceptional group of players at City.
“I want to express my gratitude to Pep and the coaches, as well as to all of my teammates, for their guidance and support.
“I work hard to be the best version of myself every day, and I attribute this to the boss and my coworkers’ constant pursuit of growth and development.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of the nominees who supported me and me.”
For City, it’s a double celebration as forward Khadija Shaw won the association’s Women’s Footballer of the Year award.
The 27-year-old Jamaican and Lauren James of Chelsea swept the poll, each taking home 80% of the total.
However, Shaw triumphed, making history as the first City player to do so since Nikita Paris in 2019.
She had surgery on her broken foot earlier this week, so the news will come as a pleasant tonic since it will keep her out of the game for the rest of the season.
But as Gareth Taylor’s team gets closer to winning the league, she still appears to be on track to end as the WSL’s highest scorer.
Yui Hasegawa came in fourth, Khiara Keating sixth, and Alex Greenwood third were her other club members who also placed in the top six.
Elisabeth Terland, a Norwegian striker for Brighton, ended the run by placing fifth.
Shaw expressed his pride and privilege at receiving the medal, saying that it is a unique honor to be acknowledged in this manner.
“I also want to express my gratitude to my teammates. They provide me opportunities to score goals, and without them, I would not have been able to win this honor.
“I owe a great deal to everyone at City, including Gareth and the rest of the coaching staff. Being a member of such an exceptional organization is a pleasure.
“Many thanks to everyone who voted for me, as well as to the other candidates. Winning this honor means so much to me.
“Hopefully, the team can now cap off the season with a bang and give everyone something extra to rejoice about.”
A player from City has won both the men’s and women’s awards for the first time in the last five years.
The last time it occurred was in 2019, when Raheem Sterling and Paris won the most votes.
Votes were cast for eighteen players in the men’s division.
The other players were Ross Barkley, John McGinn, Virgil Van Dijk, Mo Salah, Bukayo Saka, Bruno Guimares, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Alexis Mac Allister, Diogo Dalot, Son Heung Min, and Jarrod Bowen.
In the meantime, Erin Cuthbert, Sjoeke Nusken, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, Ella Toone, Katie McCabe, Ashleigh Neville, and other athletes received votes for the women’s prize.
Jess Carter, Fuka Nagano, Millie Turner, Taylor Hinds, and Niamh Charles.
On Thursday, May 16, during the Footballer of the Year dinner in London, both winners will receive honors.