# FWA Footballer of the Year

The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football. The award has been presented since the 1947–48 season, with the inaugural winner being Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews. The latest winner of the award as of 2023–24 is Phil Foden of Manchester City. Nine players have won the award on more than one occasion, with Thierry Henry having won the award on the most occasions, with three wins in four seasons.
The winner is selected by a vote amongst the members of the Football Writers' Association (FWA), which comprises around 400 football journalists based throughout England. The award was instigated at the suggestion of Charles Buchan, a former professional footballer turned journalist and one of the Association's founders.

## Winners

The award has been presented on 77 occasions as of 2024, to 68 players. On one occasion two players shared the award for a season. The table also indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in English football, namely the Professional Footballers' Association's Players' Player of the Year award (PPY), Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY), the Young Player of the Year award (YPY), the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS), the Premier League Young Player of the Season award (PYPS), and the Football Supporters' Association Player of the Year (FSA).
Winners of the FWA Footballer of the Year :
| Year | Player | Club | Also won |
| 1947–48 | Stanley Matthews | Blackpool | |
| 1948–49 | Johnny Carey | Manchester United | |
| 1949–50 | Joe Mercer | Arsenal | |
| 1950–51 | Harry Johnston | Blackpool | |
| 1951–52 | Billy Wright | Wolverhampton Wanderers | |
| 1952–53 | Nat Lofthouse | Bolton Wanderers | |
| 1953–54 | Tom Finney | Preston North End | |
| 1954–55 | Don Revie | Manchester City | |
| 1955–56 | Bert Trautmann | Manchester City | |
| 1956–57 | Tom Finney (2) | Preston North End | |
| 1957–58 | Danny Blanchflower | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| 1958–59 | Syd Owen | Luton Town | |
| 1959–60 | Bill Slater | Wolverhampton Wanderers | |
| 1960–61 | Danny Blanchflower (2) | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| 1961–62 | Jimmy Adamson | Burnley | |
| 1962–63 | Stanley Matthews (2) | Stoke City | |
| 1963–64 | Bobby Moore | West Ham United | |
| 1964–65 | Bobby Collins | Leeds United | |
| 1965–66 | Bobby Charlton | Manchester United | |
| 1966–67 | Jack Charlton | Leeds United | |
| 1967–68 | George Best | Manchester United | |
| 1968–69 | Tony Book Dave Mackay | Manchester City Derby County | |
| 1969–70 | Billy Bremner | Leeds United | |
| 1970–71 | Frank McLintock | Arsenal | |
| 1971–72 | Gordon Banks | Stoke City | |
| 1972–73 | Pat Jennings | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| 1973–74 | Ian Callaghan | Liverpool | |
| 1974–75 | Alan Mullery | Fulham | |
| 1975–76 | Kevin Keegan | Liverpool | |
| 1976–77 | Emlyn Hughes | Liverpool | |
| 1977–78 | Kenny Burns | Nottingham Forest | |
| 1978–79 | Kenny Dalglish | Liverpool | |
| 1979–80 | Terry McDermott | Liverpool | PPY |
| 1980–81 | Frans Thijssen | Ipswich Town | |
| 1981–82 | Steve Perryman | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| 1982–83 | Kenny Dalglish (2) | Liverpool | PPY |
| 1983–84 | Ian Rush | Liverpool | PPY |
| 1984–85 | Neville Southall | Everton | |
| 1985–86 | Gary Lineker | Everton | PPY |
| 1986–87 | Clive Allen | Tottenham Hotspur | PPY |
| 1987–88 | John Barnes | Liverpool | PPY |
| 1988–89 | Steve Nicol | Liverpool | |
| 1989–90 | John Barnes (2) | Liverpool | |
| 1990–91 | Gordon Strachan | Leeds United | |
| 1991–92 | Gary Lineker (2) | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| 1992–93 | Chris Waddle | Sheffield Wednesday | |
| 1993–94 | Alan Shearer | Blackburn Rovers | |
| 1994–95 | Jürgen Klinsmann | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| 1995–96 | Eric Cantona | Manchester United | |
| 1996–97 | Gianfranco Zola | Chelsea | |
| 1997–98 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | PPY |
| 1998–99 | David Ginola | Tottenham Hotspur | PPY |
| 1999–2000 | Roy Keane | Manchester United | PPY |
| 2000–01 | Teddy Sheringham | Manchester United | PPY |
| 2001–02 | Robert Pires | Arsenal | |
| 2002–03 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | PPY, FPY |
| 2003–04 | Thierry Henry (2) | Arsenal | PPY, FPY, PPS |
| 2004–05 | Frank Lampard | Chelsea | FPY, PPS |
| 2005–06 | Thierry Henry (3) | Arsenal | PPS |
| 2006–07 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | PPY, FPY, YPY, PPS |
| 2007–08 | Cristiano Ronaldo (2) | Manchester United | PPY, FPY, PPS |
| 2008–09 | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool | FPY |
| 2009–10 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United | PPY, FPY, PPS |
| 2010–11 | Scott Parker | West Ham United | |
| 2011–12 | Robin van Persie | Arsenal | PPY, FPY |
| 2012–13 | Gareth Bale | Tottenham Hotspur | PPY, YPY, PPS |
| 2013–14 | Luis Suárez | Liverpool | PPY, FPY, PPS, FSA |
| 2014–15 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea | PPY, PPS |
| 2015–16 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester City | PPS |
| 2016–17 | N'Golo Kanté | Chelsea | PPY, PPS |
| 2017–18 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | PPY, FPY, PPS, FSA |
| 2018–19 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City | YPY |
| 2019–20 | Jordan Henderson | Liverpool | |
| 2020–21 | Rúben Dias | Manchester City | PPS |
| 2021–22 | Mohamed Salah (2) | Liverpool | PPY, FPY |
| 2022–23 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | PPY, PPS, PYPS |
| 2023–24 | Phil Foden | Manchester City | PPY, PPS |

## Breakdown of winners
### By country

Winners of the FWA Footballer of the Year by country :
| Country | Number of wins | Winning years |
| England | 39 | 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69$^‡$, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2023-24 |
| Scotland | 9 | 1964–65, 1968–69$^‡$, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1988–89, 1990–91 |
| France | 7 | 1995–96, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2016–17 |
| Northern Ireland | 4 | 1957–58, 1960–61, 1967–68, 1972–73 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1980–81, 1997–98, 2011–12 |
| Wales | 3 | 1983–84, 1984–85, 2012–13 |
| Portugal | 3 | 2006–07, 2007–08, 2020–21 |
| Egypt | 2 | 2017–18, 2021–22 |
| West Germany / Germany | 2 | 1955–56, 1994–95 |
| Republic of Ireland | 2 | 1948–49, 1999–2000 |
| Italy | 1 | 1996–97 |
| Uruguay | 1 | 2013–14 |
| Belgium | 1 | 2014–15 |
| Norway | 1 | 2022–23 |
‡ — two winners

### Winners by club

Winners of the FWA Footballer of the Year by club :
| Club | Number of wins | Winning years |
| Liverpool | 15 | 1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2021–22 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 9 | 1957–58, 1960–61, 1972–73, 1981–82, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2012–13 |
| Manchester United | 9 | 1948–49, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10 |
| Arsenal | 8 | 1949–50, 1970–71, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2011–12 |
| Manchester City | 7 | 1954–55, 1955–56, 1968–69$^‡$, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023-24 |
| Leeds United | 4 | 1964–65, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1990–91 |
| Chelsea | 4 | 1996–97, 2004–05, 2014–15, 2016–17 |
| Everton | 2 | 1984–85, 1985–86 |
| Stoke City | 2 | 1962–63, 1971–72 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 | 1951–52, 1959–60 |
| Preston North End | 2 | 1953–54, 1956–57 |
| Blackpool | 2 | 1947–48, 1950–51 |
| West Ham United | 2 | 1963–64, 2010–11 |
| Leicester City | 1 | 2015–16 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1 | 1993–94 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1 | 1992–93 |
| Ipswich Town | 1 | 1980–81 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1 | 1977–78 |
| Fulham | 1 | 1974–75 |
| Derby County | 1 | 1968–69$^‡$ |
| Burnley | 1 | 1961–62 |
| Luton Town | 1 | 1958–59 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 1 | 1952–53 |