Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been named the 2019-20 Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association.
The midfielder was confirmed as the recipient of the prestigious annual prize, decided by the votes of professional football writers and broadcasters in England, two days after lifting the Premier League trophy for the Reds at Anfield.
Henderson received more than a quarter of the votes, holding off competition from Kevin De Bruyne and Marcus Rashford, as well as teammates Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane.
BREAKING – Jordan Henderson is the new Footballer of the Year for 2019-20. The Liverpool and England midfielder held off strong competition from Kevin De Bruyne, Marcus Rashford and other LFC team-mates to win football oldest individual award. Details: https://t.co/fHqoq9Rl1d pic.twitter.com/8s3uCYyGCG
— The FWA (@theofficialfwa) July 24, 2020
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson Becker also received votes as the champions dominated the poll.
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“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 teammates — 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.
“The players who’ve started the most games for us this season have been as good as they have been because of our culture and our environment at Melwood. No one individual is responsible for that – it’s a collective effort and that’s how I view accepting this honor.
“I accept it on behalf of this whole squad, because without them I’m not in a position to be receiving this honour. These lads have made me a better player — a better leader and a better person.
“If anything I hope those who voted for me did so partly to recognize the entire team’s contribution.
“Individual awards are nice and they are special and I will cherish this one. But an individual award without the collective achievement wouldn’t mean anywhere as much to me – if anything at all.”
Jordan Henderson dedicates winning the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award to the entire Liverpool team ? pic.twitter.com/YyhfMTHNl7
— The FWA (@theofficialfwa) July 24, 2020
