Cristiano crowned Players' Player AND Young Player of the Year!
On the biggest night of the footballing calendar, the PFA is delighted to announce that Cristiano Ronaldo has been named both Players' Player and Young Player of the Year - the first player since Andy Gray to be so honoured. It was therefore a clean sweep for Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson is a worthy winner of our Merit Award.
At the organisation's 34th star-studded awards' dinner at London's Grosvenor House Hotel the Manchester United winger was honoured by his fellow professionals, the greatest individual accolade a player can receive.
It is a great tribute to Cristiano that after a difficult start to the season, following events at the World Cup, he has been able to silence the critics and win over the doubters in such spectacular fashion.
As we celebrate 100 years of the PFA, it is an even greater honour for Cristiano who will go down in history as the young man who won both prestigious individual awards in our Centenary Year.
In the Players' Player category, the Portuguese star faced immense competition from the likes of 30-goal Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas, Steven Gerrard, as well as United colleagues Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.
In the young player category, Cristiano was also in distinguished company as he successfully headed off the challenge of Fabregas, again, Kevin Doyle, Aaron Lennon, Micah Richards and Wayne Rooney. No mean feat in itself.
Gordon Taylor, PFA Chief Executive, paid his own tribute to our double award winner, saying: "He is the most exciting player in the country at the moment, the quickness of his feet and the skills he possesses make you think, at times, that he's from another planet.
"In actual fact, he's from the small Portuguese island of Madeira which, in itself, makes it all the more incredible that he has made such a huge name for himself on the world stage."
The 2007 Player of the Year himself said of his tribute from his fellow pros: "It is a tremendous honour for me, and to be the first Portuguese player to win this award makes it even more special. Amazing, in fact. It has been a great season but I feel the best is yet to come."
"Someone told me recently that only one person had ever won both trophies, so I am very proud to follow in Andy Grays footsteps. At this moment I am playing with confidence and the team is playing with confidence. Everything is right. I am still young and I am learning all the time and I think I have got more to offer. Winning this trophy is very important to me."
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson added: "People are already comparing him to Pele, Best and Maradona but he has still got some way to go before reaching that level. However, I believe that he is the best player in the world at the moment. To score 21 goals from a wide position is incredible."
Gordon also paid tribute to Merit Award winner Ferguson, saying: "We are delighted to have Sir Alex here as our Guest of Honour in this special year. He is the most successful British manager of all time, and to have celebrated his 20th year in charge of Manchester United is a remarkable achievement in any era.
"During that time, Sir Alex has put no fewer than NINETEEN trophies in the Old Trafford cabinet, including eight Premier League titles, the Champions League, the European Cup Winners' Cup), five FA Cups and two League Cups.
"When you add that to the nine trophies he previously won as manager of Aberdeen (a haul which included three Premier League titles and the Cup Winners' Cup) it's not too difficult to see why, at the ripe old age of 65, he is still recognised as the best in the business."
Sir Alex was proud to join an illustrious list of Merit Award winners, and the long-serving manager responded to a question about what advice he would give to young managers coming into the game today...'get a good chairman…and a good contract'.
