Salah deserved PFA player of the year award more than de Bruyne

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Bengaluru, May 1: Manchester City might have won the Premier League but their main player hasn’t won the highest individual honour in England’s top division. Kevin de Bruyne was one of the favourites for the PFA Player of the Year honour considering the way City swept through the league unchallenged, but it eventually went to Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.

Salah's consistent performances, dazzling runs and epic goals saw him beat de Bruyne to the coveted prize. Players from 92 clubs and 10 women football clubs (WSL) voted in 2018 and the majority of them went for the Egyptian. In an interview with BT sport, de Bruyne himself confirmed that he voted for Salah. He felt that the former Roma man deserved it and there wasn’t anyone else outside Manchester City who deserved the prize. Players cannot vote for anyone from their club.

This is not the first time that a Player of The Year was chosen from a team that didn’t win the league. Back in 1998-99, Tottenham’s David Ginola won the award despite United’s historic treble that year.

Both Salah and de Bruyne had played for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho and were let go as the Blues felt they weren’t good enough to play for the club. It is now an irony that they both are sparkling and Chelsea seem to be struggling to qualify for the Champions League. Salah has 31 goals and 9 assists in Premier League.

Manager Jurgen Klopp seems to have created a system where Salah plays further upfront. This not only aids his movement, it helps him score the humongous number of goals he has to his name.

One of the other reasons players have voted for Salah is because of x-factor. His mesmerizing dribbles and ability to slow down time when the ball is at his feet reminds everyone of another great left-footed player, Lionel Messi, who plies his trade at Barcelona.

Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane in the attacking third are all enjoying magnificent campaign under Pep Guardiola in Man City. What makes them tick is the man behind them, de Bruyne. The Belgian has been the main reason Manchester City have played so fluidly. Though he should have won the award for City’s scintillating form in the league, the fact that he and his team were rendered ineffective in the Champions League by Salah and Liverpool tells us that the PFA made the right choice.