Sterling reveals Van Dijk snub in favour of Kane

Manchester, April 24: Manchester City star Raheem Sterling revealed he voted for Tottenham striker Harry Kane to receive the PFA Player of the Year award, not Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk.

Sterling and Liverpool defender Van Dijk are the frontrunners for the award ahead of the PFA ceremony in London on Sunday (April 28).

Van Dijk said he voted for Sterling – who has scored 17 Premier League goals and tallied nine assists for reigning champions City this season.

However, Sterling did not return the favour, instead opting for England team-mate Kane, who did not make the six-man shortlist.

The nominees for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year!

🇦🇷 @aguerosergiokun
🇳🇱 @VirgilvDijk
🇧🇪 @hazardeden10
🇸🇳 Sadio Mané
🇵🇹 @BernardoCSilva
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @sterling7#PFAawards | #POTY pic.twitter.com/j6YvXaRtSJ

— PFA | Professional Footballers' Association (@PFA) April 20, 2019

"It's nice to be recognised on that front but, to be honest, if we don't win the Premier League, I don't really want to be in contention," said Sterling.

"What I want to do is win the Premier League, win the FA Cup, then think about stuff like that, even though the awards are before that. Without that, it doesn't mean much to me, really.

"I voted for Harry Kane. My vote for him is because he scores so many goals every year, he does so much for the team, gives so much for his team.

"There was a lot of talk about Virgil van Dijk. I knew he would have a lot of the votes, so I looked at someone I thought being around him in the national team, how he puts in his work, his work ethic, how he looks after himself.

"He's always there, especially coming back from injury, as a professional I looked at him and that's my reason for voting for him, seeing him on a day-to-day with the national team."

Sterling's City team-mates Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva are also in the running for the award, as well as Liverpool forward Sadio Mane and Chelsea star Eden Hazard.