Leeds [UK]: Manchester City’s forward Raheem Sterling has been named as the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year 2019.
Sterling was a clear winner in the vote of over 400 FWA members. He took 62 percent of the votes and he acquired 100 more votes than Liverpool’s defender Virgil Van Dijk.
With this win, Sterling became the first Manchester City player to win the football’s oldest individual award. The player also received praise for his courageous stance against racism in the game.
“Raheem Sterling is a player of style and a man of substance. More than 70 years ago Charles Buchan, one of the founding fathers of the Footballer Writers’ Association, suggested there be an award presented to the player who by “precept and example” is considered the Footballer of the Year,” newly-elected FWA Chair Carrie Brown said in an official statement on Monday.
“Raheem Sterling is an exemplar of the talent and values our founding fathers sought to reward when they established the FWA in 1947. To have been voted the 2019 Footballer of the Year by our members, and with such an overwhelming majority, clearly acknowledges the contribution from a player over one season,” she added.
Sterling has scored 29 goals for Manchester City and he is all slated to receive the Sir Stanley Matthews Trophy at the 2019 Footballer of the Year dinner, to be held at the Landmark Hotel in London on May 9.
The 24-year-old Sterling’s teammate Sergio Aguero received the third highest number of votes.
Harry Kane (Tottenham), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal), Bernardo Silva and David Silva (Manchester City) were among the others who received votes from FWA members.
England and Manchester City’s player Nikita Parris also received the FWA’s Women’s footballer of the year award.
The 25-year-old City and England forward succeeded fellow England striker Fran Kirby, who won the inaugural award last May.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]