JORDAN HENDERSON has an outstanding season on and off the pitch by scooping the FWA Footballer of the Year prize.
The Liverpool captain has become the 12th player in the club’s history to win the accolade just days after lifting the Premier League trophy.
Henderson, 30, beat team-mates Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane plus Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Man United’s Marcus Rashford to claim the award.
He paid tribute to the rest of the Liverpool squad after learning he had won it.
Henderson said: “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 honour.”
1⃣ Henderson
2⃣ De Bruyne
3⃣ Rashford
4⃣ Van Dijk
5⃣ ManéHere's the top five in @theofficialfwa's Player of the Year vote
pic.twitter.com/u77ohO3L4I
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) July 24, 2020
Henderson continued: “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 recognise 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.”
Henderson received over a quarter of the votes with ten others receiving votes, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Raheem Sterling, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Sergio Aguero, Adama Traore, Danny Ings, Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Jonny Evans.
The Anfield skipper’s efforts off the pitch have also been recognised as he led the #playerstogether initiative during the Covid-19 crisis to “distribute money to where it is needed most” in the battle against the global pandemic.
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FWA chairwomen Carrie Brown saluted the England international for his work.
She said: “Leadership is intangible and often unquantifiable unless it is inarguable. Jordan Henderson is both the ultimate professional and now a bona fide Liverpool legend.
“Jordan is a player his team-mates look to on the pitch and who his rivals look up to off it.
“’The voting criteria for the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year is one who leads by precept and example and in this country’s darkest moment, Jordan, unprompted, personally rallied club captains to establish #PlayersTogether.
“Millions of pounds have been raised for the NHS and significantly #PlayersTogether is now an established collective power base for players to engage in campaigns, none more so evident in the ongoing and powerful anti-racism #BlackLivesMatter campaign.”
Henderson became the first player to captain Liverpool to the title in 30 years.
He scored four times in 30 appearances as the Reds secured the crown in the quickest time in Premier League history.
Liverpool finish the campaign with a trip to Newcastle on Sunday.
