Bruno Guimaraes has taken the Reach PLC crown from Mohamed Salah to be named the Fans’ Footballer of the Year for 2022. The Newcastle man came out on top in the nine-person shortlist with over 60,000 voters.
Salah had won the inaugural award back in 2020 after banging in 23 goals and providing nine assists in just 31 Premier League appearances. And the Liverpool star defended his crown last year, achieving an incredible 61 per cent of the vote to finish ahead of Declan Rice.
The Egypt international looked set for a third consecutive trophy, but he’s been beaten to the post by Guimaraes after a stellar start to life on Tyneside. The Newcastle star has helped transform Eddie Howe’s side from relegation strugglers to Champions League hopefuls in a matter of months.
He’s already established himself as a fan favourite among Newcastle supporters and that has transcended through to rival supporters as well it seems. Salah finished second in voting with Beth Mead, England’s hero in the women’s European Championship-winning team this summer, ending up third.
The trio were well clear of the rest with Bukayo Saka, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Son Heung-min, James Maddison and Harry Kane making up the rest of the nine-person shortlist. A further 11 stars who missed out on the final shortlist were comprised of players such as Sam Kerr, Ella Toone, Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden among others.
Guimaraes will be hoping it’s the first award of many as he hopes to lead Newcastle in their bid to challenge for trophies down the line. He’s one of many marquee signings Howe has already made at Newcastle since the club’s new owners took charge.
Alexander Isak, Sven Botman, Nick Pope and Kieran Trippier have all played their role in helping Newcastle climb up the Premier League. But it’s Guimaraes who has arguably led the charge for Newcastle as they’re yet to lose this season with him in the team.
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