Liverpool’s Captain Jordan Henderson has been crowned Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year for the 2019/20 season.
The 30-year-old beat Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and teammates Virgil Van Dijk and Sadio Mane to claim the honor.
Apart from making his presence felt in 30 Premier League games this season as Liverpool have surged to the title with an 18-point lead at the top of the table, Henderson led by example off the pitch during football’s three-month shutdown due to coronavirus.
Henderson spearheaded the #PlayersTogether initiative during the lockdown which saw players team up with to raise money for Britain’s National Health Service.
Liverpool’s dominance in the league was reflected in the voting as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson Becker also received votes, but it was Henderson – with more than a quarter of the votes – who was the clear winner.
Reacting to his win, the Liverpool’s captain 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.
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.
He added;
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.
Henderson became the first Liverpool captain to lift the Premier League trophy, as the the club ended a 30-year wait for a top-flight title.
