Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah took home the PFA Player of the Year Award this week, but why wasn’t it given to the best player for champions Manchester City?
Opinions. Everyone has opinions, as Dirty Harry once much-less-eloquently reminded us. The great thing about opinions is how absolutely subjective they are to others, but absolutely objective they seem to the individual. Like, pineapple does not belong on pizza, I’m sorry. Leave my pizza alone please and thank you. Iceland’s president famously tried to ban the combination last year, but here’s the rub, it’s the most popular pizza topping in Australia and you almost certainly have at least one friend who likes it.
We’re all guilty of having less than popular opinions, so today, I’m going to share one with you all: Mohammed Salah is a great player having a world class season, but Kevin De Bruyne should be the PFA Player of the Year.
The dust has settled a bit on this debate, to be fair. Now we’ve moved on from the PFA and all the talk is if Salah can dethrone Ronaldo from the top of the Ballon d’Or pecking order. I mean, of course Salah won player of the year for the Premier League, right? Look at all those goals he scored. Almost breaking records! What more proof of his worth does one need?
Meanwhile, De Bruyne’s just ticking along, assist leader in the league again, creates the most chances and key chances of any player, same old same old, plus a league title dumped unceremoniously on top.
More from Manchester City
- Manchester City and their enigmatic coach stand on the cusp of greatness
- Three challenges Manchester City might face in upcoming season
- 3 potential destinations for Raheem Sterling next season
- Manchester City officially announce Erling Haaland signing
- Gabriel Jesus set for Manchester City departure
And didn’t the Anfield faithful celebrate? If they’d presented the award to Salah after a game, I’d have expected a pitch invasion followed by chants of Champ-ion-ees!
Don’t get me wrong, Salah was a good shout for the award, his goal record is unreal and when he’s played well he looks borderline untouchable, but why does that make him automatically the best choice for the PFA Player of the Year award?
Frequently it’s argued that Salah is on the cusp of breaking the all-time scoring record for a season, one goal away. That’s more than impressive, but voting for the award took place in January when it was far from clear that such a record would be broken.
Further, Salah is a forward and scoring goals is what he does well. He’s done it better than any other forward in the league, for sure. De Bruyne, however, is a play-maker and he creates chances, which he also has done far more effectively than any other player in the league.
The issue is, the PFA Player of the Year award traditionally goes to the best player from the best team in the country. Last season? N’Golo Kante from the champions Chelsea got the nod over top scorer Harry Kane. Kante’s stats are completely unimpressive at face value, but his worth to that Chelsea side was immeasurable. Before that you had Riyad Mahrez from champions Leicester, Eden Hazard from champions Chelsea and Luis Suarez from top of the table even after the award was given Liverpool. And on and on the list goes.
Oh, but it’s an individual award, they cry! But see, that’s not how it has been traditionally decided and for good reason. The team that wins the league is the best team in the country and has the best players.
All the more so does this apply to record breaking Manchester City. It’s City who, after all, won a record 18 games straight and are on course to break the records for goal difference, goals scored, points and number of wins having wrapped up the title so early it broke the record for that too. Who was the player most instrumental in that? Kevin De Bruyne.
Now, I’m not the only one to raise an eyebrow at Salah getting the nod over De Bruyne, there’s still plenty of weirdos out there who eat and actually enjoy Hawaiian Pizza after all. Several pundits have come out of the woodwork, including the BBC’s Simon Stone, and questioned the choice given there’s this team sitting champions in April, 16 points ahead of the closest competitor, and at its head is a player who is creating chances and picking up assists at a historic rate.
Maybe last year you don’t give it to him because Chelsea won the league, what’s the excuse this time round? Mo Salah is banging them in for fun? Okay then.
I guess it strikes, pardon the pun, to the heart of the issue of individual awards and what really matters in football. Forwards are always going to be at an advantage because goals are more visible than contribution.
You don’t even need to watch the games, just look at who scored and Bob’s-your-uncle. But, see, what really matters at the end of the year? Who even remembers who was second or third or any other twaddle. Maybe five years later you do, but how about twenty? Thirty?
History only smiles on the team who have picked up the silverware and the one that really counts is the title. That’s how Kante and Mahrez picked up the PFA Player of the Year Award ahead of Kane and Aguero. That’s why De Bruyne should have picked it up over Salah.
Next: Alexandre Lacazette can be a key figure to Arsenal's lineup
I fully expect to be lambasted on social media by rabid Liverpool fans, or worse, rabid Liverpool fans who enjoy pineapple pizza, but it’s only my opinion. Salah is the PFA Player of the Year. De Bruyne is a Champion. All the rest is just for fun.