BEVERLY HILLS, June 02, (THEWILL) – The 2020/2021 football season in England was a fruitful one for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side. They won a record English Football League title and regained the Premiership trophy they lost to Liverpool in the preceding season in the men’s game. But, they were also dominant in the female League as well.
This was very obvious when the final shortlists for the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Players’ Player of the Year awards were revealed on Wednesday.
Although Chelsea, who won the Women’s League title and the League Cup, dominated in the female nominations, City still took a share of the listing, as Chelsea and City were the only two clubs that had nominees.
Also included in the shortlists were nominees for PFA Young Player of the Year awards for both the men’s and women’s leagues, where a lot more other clubs featured, from those who had disappointing seasons like Arsenal to standout teams like West Ham.
The prestige of the PFA award is that, unlike other awards determined by votes from journalists or fans, who may have bias and an agenda, the votes come from the players themselves which imply that awardees have done enough to command the respect of their mates and those who understand what it takes.
The shortlists are often revealed ahead of the composition of the season’s teams of the year in the Premier League and the Women’s Super League (WSL). The players that made it into these teams will be revealed on Friday 4 June. And, on Sunday, June 6, the winners of each of the categories of the men’s and women’s players of the year will be announced.
Here are the full nominees for each category:
Men’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year nominees
Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)
Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Phil Foden (Man City)
Ruben Dias (Man City)
Women’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year nominees
Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea)
Chloe Kelly (Man City)
Fran Kirby (Chelsea)
Lauren Hemp (Man City)
Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
Sam Mewis (Man City)
Men’s PFA Young Player of the Year nominees
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Declan Rice (West Ham)
Mason Greenwood (Man Utd)
Mason Mount (Chelsea)
Phil Foden (Man City)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Women’s PFA Young Player of the Year nominees
Ebony Salmon (Bristol City)
Ella Toone (Man Utd)
Ellie Roebuck (Man City)
Lauren Hemp (Man City)
Lauren James (Man Utd)
Niamh Charles (Chelsea)
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.