Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year
The trophy is a scaled-down replica of this statue of Sir Matt Busby outside Old Trafford
SportAssociation football
History
First award1988
Editions36 (as of 2023)
First winnerScotland Brian McClair
Most winsSpain David de Gea

Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo

(4 times each)
Most recentEngland Marcus Rashford (1st win)

The Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, previously known as the MUFC Members Player of the Year (1988–1995), is an award presented to the Manchester United fans' player of the season. It is named after former Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby, who managed the club in two spells, from 1945 to 1969 and from 1970 to 1971. The award was renamed in his honour in 1996, following his death in 1994, and a new trophy was commissioned – a scaled-down replica of the statue of Busby at the east end of Old Trafford.

The first winner of the award was Brian McClair in 1988, who also became the first player to win it twice, having also won it in 1992. Since then, seven other players have won the award more than once, of which five have won it in consecutive seasons: Roy Keane (1999, 2000), Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002, 2003), Cristiano Ronaldo (2007, 2008), David de Gea (2014, 2015, 2016), and Bruno Fernandes (2020, 2021). Ronaldo's 2008 win made him the first player to receive the award three times, having also won in 2004. De Gea won the award in 2016 for the third consecutive year, becoming the second player after Ronaldo to do so, and the first in three consecutive seasons. De Gea won the award for a fourth time in 2018, the first player to do so, and Ronaldo joined him after winning his fourth in 2022.

Voting takes place towards the end of each season, usually in April, and is open to anyone who has an account on the club's official website. Voting was originally done by post until the 1994–95 season, when a phone voting system was introduced.[1] Postal voting forms were included in the club magazine, Inside United, and before that, voting was open only to members of the official supporters' club, who would receive a voting form in the post at the end of the season. Until the establishment of the official supporters' club, a separate award had been given by the members of its predecessor, the independent Manchester United Supporters Club.

Other end-of-season awards given by Manchester United include the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year Award, the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award, the Players' Player of the Year Award, and the Goal of the Season Award. Of these, the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award and the Players' Player of the Year Award are voted for by the players. The prizes for all five awards are given at an annual awards night, which is held near the end of the league season and broadcast live on the club's television channel, MUTV. A list of winners of the youth awards can be seen here.

Winners

Head and shoulders of a man with greying hair.
Brian McClair won the inaugural award in 1988.
The head and torso of a man with short, dark hair. He is wearing a red shirt.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the only outfield player to have won the award four times.
David de Gea holds the joint record for most wins with four, and was the first to win the award in three consecutive seasons.

Players in bold are still playing for Manchester United

Season Name Nationality Position Notes Ref.
1987–88 Brian McClair ScotlandForward[2]
1988–89 Bryan Robson EnglandMidfielderFirst English winner
1989–90 Gary Pallister EnglandDefender[2]
1990–91 Mark Hughes WalesForwardFirst Academy graduate to win award [3]
1991–92 Brian McClair ScotlandForwardFirst player to win the award on two occasions
1992–93 Paul Ince EnglandMidfielder
1993–94 Eric Cantona FranceForwardFirst winner from outside the United Kingdom
1994–95 Andrei Kanchelskis RussiaMidfielder
1995–96 Eric Cantona FranceForward
1996–97 David Beckham EnglandMidfielder
1997–98 Ryan Giggs WalesMidfielder[4]
1998–99 Roy Keane Republic of IrelandMidfielder
1999–2000 Roy Keane Republic of IrelandMidfielderFirst player to win the award in consecutive years
2000–01 Teddy Sheringham EnglandForward[5]
2001–02 Ruud van Nistelrooy NetherlandsForward[2]
2002–03 Ruud van Nistelrooy NetherlandsForward
2003–04 Cristiano Ronaldo PortugalMidfielder[2]
2004–05 Gabriel Heinze ArgentinaDefenderFirst winner from outside Europe[2]
2005–06 Wayne Rooney EnglandForward[5]
2006–07 Cristiano Ronaldo PortugalMidfielder[6]
2007–08 Cristiano Ronaldo PortugalMidfielderFirst player to win the award on three occasions[5][7]
2008–09 Nemanja Vidić SerbiaDefender[8]
2009–10 Wayne Rooney EnglandForward[5]
2010–11 Javier Hernández MexicoForwardFirst winner from North America[2]
2011–12 Antonio Valencia EcuadorMidfielder[9]
2012–13 Robin van Persie NetherlandsForward[10]
2013–14 David de Gea SpainGoalkeeperFirst goalkeeper to win the award[11]
2014–15 David de Gea SpainGoalkeeper[12]
2015–16 David de Gea SpainGoalkeeperFirst player to win the award in three consecutive years[13]
2016–17 Ander Herrera SpainMidfielder
2017–18 David de Gea SpainGoalkeeperFirst player to win the award on four occasions[14]
2018–19 Luke Shaw EnglandDefender[15]
2019–20 Bruno Fernandes PortugalMidfielder[16]
2020–21 Bruno Fernandes PortugalMidfielder[17]
2021–22 Cristiano Ronaldo PortugalForwardRecord-equalling fourth award[18]
2022–23 Marcus Rashford EnglandForward[19]

Wins by player

Winner Total wins Year(s)
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 42004, 2007, 2008, 2022
Spain David de Gea 42014, 2015, 2016, 2018
Scotland Brian McClair 21988, 1992
France Eric Cantona 21994, 1996
Republic of Ireland Roy Keane 21999, 2000
Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy 22002, 2003
England Wayne Rooney 22006, 2010
Portugal Bruno Fernandes 2 2020, 2021
England Bryan Robson 11989
England Gary Pallister 11990
Wales Mark Hughes 11991
England Paul Ince 11993
Russia Andrei Kanchelskis 11995
England David Beckham 11997
Wales Ryan Giggs 11998
England Teddy Sheringham 12001
Argentina Gabriel Heinze 12005
Serbia Nemanja Vidić 12009
Mexico Javier Hernández 12011
Ecuador Antonio Valencia 12012
Netherlands Robin van Persie 12013
Spain Ander Herrera 12017
England Luke Shaw 12019
England Marcus Rashford 12023

Wins by playing position

Position Number of wins
Goalkeeper 4
Defender 4
Midfielder 14
Forward 14

Wins by nationality

Nationality Number of winners
 England 9
 Portugal 6
 Spain 5
 Netherlands 3
 France 2
 Republic of Ireland 2
 Scotland 2
 Wales 2
 Argentina 1
 Russia 1
 Serbia 1
 Mexico 1
 Ecuador 1

Players' Player of the Year

Season Name Nationality Position Notes Ref.
2005–06 Ryan Giggs WalesMidfielderInaugural winner[20]
2006–07 Cristiano Ronaldo PortugalForwardFirst non-British winner
2007–08 Cristiano Ronaldo PortugalForwardFirst player to win the award in consecutive years
2008–09 Nemanja Vidić SerbiaDefender
2009–10 Wayne Rooney EnglandForward
2010–11 Nani PortugalForward
2011–12 Antonio Valencia EcuadorForwardFirst non-European winner
2012–13 Michael Carrick EnglandMidfielder
2013–14 David de Gea SpainGoalkeeper
2014–15 David de Gea SpainGoalkeeper
2015–16 Chris Smalling EnglandDefender
2016–17 Antonio Valencia EcuadorDefender
2017–18 David de Gea SpainGoalkeeperFirst player to win the award on three occasions
2018–19 Luke Shaw EnglandDefender
2019–20 Anthony Martial FranceForward
2020–21 Luke Shaw EnglandDefender
2021–22 David de Gea SpainGoalkeeperFirst player to win the award on four occasions
2022–23 Marcus Rashford EnglandForward

References

  1. ↑ Butler, Cliff, ed. (2004). Manchester United Official Yearbook 1994. Manchester: Manchester United Football Club. p. 161.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tuck, James (18 May 2011). "Fans honour Hernandez". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  3. ↑ "Legends: Mark Hughes". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "First team: Ryan Giggs". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Bostock, Adam (4 May 2010). "Rooney wins club award treble". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  6. ↑ Bostock, Adam (15 May 2007). "MUTV Online: United awards". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Bartram, Steve (11 May 2008). "Player of the Year awards". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Hibbs, Ben (17 May 2009). "Vidic does the double". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Fans honour Valencia". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  10. ↑ Tuck, James; Marshall, Adam (15 May 2013). "Van Persie wins fans' award". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  11. ↑ Froggatt, Mark (8 May 2014). "De Gea wins fans' award". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  12. ↑ Froggatt, Mark (19 May 2015). "De Gea is Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  13. ↑ Higgins, Adam (3 May 2016). "David de Gea wins third successive Player of the Year award". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  14. ↑ Higgins, Adam (1 May 2018). "De Gea wins Player of the Year award". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  15. ↑ Marshall, Adam (9 May 2019). "Shaw wins Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  16. ↑ Ganley, Joe (18 September 2020). "Fernandes voted Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  17. ↑ Marshall, Adam (18 May 2021). "Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year revealed". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Nelson, Joe (4 June 2022). "Ronaldo named United's Player of the Year". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  19. ↑ Ganley, Joe (29 May 2023). "Rashford voted United's Player of the Year". Manchester United. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  20. ↑ "United Players' Player of the Year award winners". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
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