Premier League, EFL and Women's Super League stars gathered in Manchester on Tuesday for the PFA awards, where Liverpool icon Sir Kenny Dalglish and Lionesses hero Karen Carney were presented with Merit Awards.
Merit Awards for Dalglish and Carney
Dalglish, 75, was honoured for his lasting contribution to football, which includes leading Liverpool through the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and raising millions for cancer care through the Marina Dalglish Appeal, set up in 2005 after his wife's breast cancer treatment. In June of this year, Dalglish announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Carney, 39, has built a career as a broadcaster and analyst since retiring, and was appointed by the UK Government to chair an independent review, published in 2023, into the future of domestic women's football.
Men's Player of the Year Contenders
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes is in contention for the Men's Player of the Year award after breaking the record for most assists in a single Premier League season with 21. Despite United's trophy-less campaign, his individual performance has made him the frontrunner.
His fellow nominees are Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal), David Raya (Arsenal) and Declan Rice (Arsenal).
Young Player and Women's Awards
The Men's Young Player of the Year race includes Rayan Cherki, Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City), Max Dowman (Arsenal), Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United) and Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool).
For the Women's Player of the Year, Bunny Shaw is the favourite, with rivals Kirsty Hanson (Aston Villa), Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Jess Park (Manchester United) and Alessia Russo (Arsenal). The Women's Young Player of the Year will be contested between Laura Blindkilde Brown (Manchester City), Veerle Buurman (Chelsea), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea), Freya Godfrey (London City Lionesses), Toko Koga (Tottenham Hotspur) and Olivia Smith (Arsenal).
Awards are also up for grabs in the Championship, League One, League Two and the Women's Super League 2. England manager Thomas Tuchel was among the attendees at the Manchester Opera House.
