Virgil van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema win PFA Player of the Year awards

Dutch players Virgil Van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema pose with PFA POTY Awards - Twitter/PFA

Dutch duo Virgil van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema have won the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year awards for 2018-19.


Liverpool defender Van Dijk, 27, beat Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Sergio Aguero, Sadio Mane and Eden Hazard in the vote by his fellow players.

Arsenal forward Miedema, 22, beat Steph Houghton, Nikita Parris, Keira Walsh, Erin Cuthbert and Ji So-yun.

Manchester City forward Sterling won the men's Young Player of the Year.

City also provided winners for two other awards, with England forward Georgia Stanway claiming the women's young player prize and England captain Houghton receiving the PFA Special Achievement award.

Van Dijk succeeds Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah, who won in 2017-18, and is the first defender to take the award since Chelsea centre-back John Terry in 2004-05.

Miedema, who helped Arsenal clinch their first Women's Super League title since 2012 earlier on Sunday, follows Chelsea and England striker Fran Kirby.

Van Dijk has been one of the key players in Liverpool's ongoing title challenge this season, playing in every one of their Premier League fixtures.

Signed in January 2018 from Southampton for a world record fee for a defender of £75m, the Netherlands international has been a rock at the heart of the Reds' defence. BBC

PFA Players Of The Year 2019 - As posted... 👇👇

Your #PFA Players of the Year 2019🏆 @VirgilvDijk and @VivianneMiedema 🇳🇱 @OnsOranje @oranjevrouwen #PFAawards #POTY pic.twitter.com/kHVuw5KD7g

— PFA | Professional Footballers' Association (@PFA) April 28, 2019