Kevin De Bruyne beats Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold to win PFA Player of the Year

Kevin De Bruyne has been crowned Manchester City’s first-ever PFA Player of the Year.

The Belgian midfielder equalled Arsenal’s legend Thierry Henry’s Premier League record of 20 assists in a single season as City finished second to Premier League champions Liverpool. He also scored 13 goals.

De Bruyne edged out team-mate Raheem Sterling, and Liverpool quartet Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Virgil Van Dijk, and Sadio Mane to win the award on Tuesday night, September 8.

The Belgian equalled Thierry Henry’s Premier League record of 20 assists in a single season as City finished a distant second to Premier League champions Liverpool.

‘It’s a huge honour. To be voted for by your colleagues and competitors from other teams who you play against is amazing,’ De Bruyne said.

‘It’s strange that I’m the first one at City given all the good players that have played here before and who are still playing here but it’s nice.’

‘When players vote for you, and it’s everyone who is voting not just a few, that means you’ve done really well during the season,’ added De Bruyne, who was also awarded Premier League Player of the Season last month.

‘Most of the time Pep just lets me be me. He gives me a lot of freedom. I don’t know why, it’s just the way it goes between us and he knows I will always put the team first.

‘If I can help myself, I’ll do that, but he knows I want the team to win and if the team wins then I’ll gain from it. In that sense he trusts me completely.’