These Are the 2022 PFA Player of the Year Predictions

There are multiple “player of the year” awards in English football but perhaps the PFA Players’ Player of the Year Award is the biggest one. It has two separate awards, one each for male and female footballers. When referring to the Player of the Year, it usually means this award presented by the PFA. Presented since the 1973-1974 season, the award is a great achievement. Just how winning the season is a team’s greatest achievement, so is winning the Player of the Year award for an individual footballer. In this article we’ll dive into the essence of this whole thing, explaining briefly the PFA and other awards. Expect to read about the 2022 PFA Player of the Year predictions along with past notable winners as well.

The PFA or Professional Footballers Association is the union of both current and former footballers and scholars in the Premier League and all other English football leagues, along with the FA Women’s Super League. It is a massive organization that transcends the world of football. They offer support on many levels like finance, education, and welfare. To fully understand what this organization is about, check out the PFA’s official website. The PFA awards the best performers each year, who are voted in by the players across the divisions. The award show itself will be broadcast on 6 June. These awards include the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, PFA Young Player of the Year, and the PFA’s Merit Award. In this article, we are going to focus on the PFA Players’ Player of the Year Award. You’ll see the names of some of the best footballers in the world here.

PFA Player of the Year History and Other Major Awards

Some of the biggest names in the history of the Player of the Year award include Eric Cantona, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Mohamed Salah, and Kevin De Bruyne. England holds the most awards, having won the award 18 times. 11 out of the 18 winners were Manchester United players at the time. No player has ever won the award more than two times. For the past four years, the PFA Player of the Year was either a Liverpool or Manchester City player. City superstar midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is the current holder, having won the award in both 2020 and 2021. Last year’s final nominees included six players from the Premier League and four of them played for Manchester City. Phil Foden was nominated that year for both Young Player of the Year and Player of the Year.

Online sportsbook sites in the UK predicted Foden to win the 2021 Young Player of the Year award, which became true. Usually, some players will separate themselves from the rest during the season and the potential winners become clearer. Apart from the PFA award, there are other Player of the Year awards in English football as well. The major ones are the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year award (FWA) the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award (FPY), the PFA Young Player of the Year award (YPY), the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS), and the Football Supporters’ Federation Player of the Year award (FSF). Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player to win all five major awards, during the 2006-2007 season. Only Luis Suárez (2013-2014) and Mohamed Salah (2017-2018) managed to do the same since then.

2022 PFA Player of the Year – The top 10

The competition for the 2022 PFA Player of the Year is dominated by Manchester City and Liverpool players. 9 out of the top 10 players with the best chances are from these two teams. The black sheep standing out from the group is Manchester United’s own Cristiano Ronaldo. When it comes to English football the Player of the Year award is second only to the Premier League itself. Sites like Bet365 Sportsbook offer countless betting options.

These are the currently favored top 10 players in order: Mohamed Salah, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Joao Cancelo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Virgil van Dijk, Alcantara Thiago, Ruben Dias, Trent Alexander-Arnold (T10), and Rodrigo Hernandez (T10). Now let’s look at the performances of the top three players, who have a high chance of becoming finalists for the award.

Mohamed Salah is Unstoppable This Season

Salah has won the five major players of the year awards at the end of the 2017-2018 season. That was his first season with Liverpool. He’s been a good player throughout his career but he shines the brightest with the Reds. He racked numerous awards since then for both club and himself, including the Premier League title, Champions League, Golden Boots, Best FIFA Men’s Player, and so on. Many doubted him because repeating a record-breaking season is difficult in itself already. At the age of 29, it’s safe to say that no one knows if the Egyptian superstar has reached his peak yet. He makes a strong case for the 2022 PFA Player of the Year award. Salah opened the season with a goal and two assists in his first game, becoming the first Premier League player to score in an opening game of five consecutive Premier League seasons.

He surpassed his 100th goal for Liverpool this season, making him the fastest player to do so in Liverpool’s history and putting him on the list of top 10 all-time scorers of his club. Salah has 16 goals and 9 assists in 20 appearances for Liverpool this season. He’s also exceptional in the Champions League, having scored 7 goals in only 6 matches. The Reds went unbeaten in the UCL group stages and are currently second in the Premier League. The 2022 UCL Round of 16 predictions also favors them against Inter. Salah’s overall performance this season across multiple competitions earned him the favorite for the Player of the Year award this season. He’s far ahead of the other players with 1.61 odds on Bet365 Sportsbook. Let’s hope that his generational talent can help Liverpool achieve big this year.

Kevin De Bruyne Could Break a PFA Player of the Year Record in 2022

KDB has been running with the Citizens since 2015 and his achievements with the club speak for themselves. Three Premier League titles, five League Cups, FA Cup, Player of the Season, and so on. He’s one of the most important pieces of Manchester City and contributes greatly to their success. On a side note, he also won the PFA Player of the Year award twice and is a runner-up this season as well. If he manages to win it again, not only will he hold the title for a third consecutive year, but he will also become the only player ever to win it three times. De Bruyne and co. are aiming for nothing less than the Premier League and Champions League titles this season. They’re ahead of everyone in the league with almost 10 points and are expected to make it to the UCL finals as well.

The midfielder has won so many awards it would take forever to list them. While naturally, he’s more of an attacking midfielder, in this year’s UCL he played a more central position. Out of 5 appearances he managed to produce one assist. As for the Premier League, he stepped on the pitch 17 times, scoring 6 goals and producing 2 assists. De Bruyne is often regarded as the “complete footballer”. Despite turning 31 this year, his performance and market value remain at a high. He’s second in the 2022 PFA Player of the Year odds with 6.00, only behind Mohamed Salah. Whether he wins the award this season or not, he’s still one of the best footballers in the world. Expect to hear a lot about him and Man City at most online sportsbook sites in the UK.

Bernardo Silva and His Pivotal Role at Manchester City

Bernardo Silva is a player whose impact can be felt on Manchester City. He’s been with the club since 2017 and is a key factor in City’s success similar to De Bruyne. Man City has a squad that works so well together that can only be seen at very few teams. Silva mainly plays attacking midfield and is considered among the best midfielders in the world. Silva played a pivotal role in City’s last year’s UCL run, where they made the finals for the first time. Despite his successes at the club, he never won the PFA Player of the Year award. Manchester City’s great performance this season is the major reason why so many of its players are considered for the award. At the start of the season, he expressed unhappiness with the club but since the failed transfer attempts, something propelled him to become even better this year.

He won the Player of the Month award in September, October, and November, becoming the first City player to win it in three consecutive months. Silva also became the first player in the UCL to have a passing rate of 100%. Manager Pep Guardiola described him as one of the best in the world right now. He currently has 1 assist in 5 UCL appearances but continues to be one of City’s key players in the competition. In the Premier League, Silva has 7 goals and 1 assist in 22 appearances. By the looks of things, no one’s knocking off City from the top for a while. Bet365 Sportsbook predictions have him winning the 2022 PFA Player of the Year award with 8.00 odds. This makes him one of the three only players to have winning odds below 10.00 this year.

You can discover about bet365 Sportsbook here