Manchester United

Ander Herrera named Manchester United's Player of the Year

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 19 May 2017

Manchester United's Player of the Year award for 2016-17 goes to Ander Herrera, who edged out Antonio Valencia and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to win the top prize.

Ander Herrera has been named as Manchester United's Player of the Year for 2016-17 to put an end to David de Gea's three-year dominance of the award.

The 27-year-old finished 242 votes ahead of second-placed Antonio Valencia, who took the Players' Player of the Year accolade during Thursday night's ceremony at Old Trafford, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in third.

Herrera has featured 49 times for United in all competitions this season, including eight times in the club's run to the final of the Europa League, and admits that he is honoured to have been given the gong.

You've voted @AnderHerrera the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year for 2016/17 - well deserved! #MUFCPOTY pic.twitter.com/N1GgE6a8TG
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 18, 2017

"It's very special for me to win this award because when you see the list of winners, you realise how important it is," he said. "And I stopped the record of David!

"I feel [the fans' affection] and I'm very thankful but I think a Manchester United player can never stop; we have to keep giving them the affection back because you can see we don't always perform at our best, yet they are always behind us."

Axel Tuanzebe was given the Reserve Player award, meanwhile, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan's scorpion kick against Sunderland saw him scoop the Goal of the Season prize.