Socceroos nominees for PFA Men’s Footballer of the Year

The Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) has announced its nominees for the Men’s Footballer of the Year 2020 award, and there are some familiar faces in contention again.

The award celebrates and rewards Australia’s most outstanding male players each season, based on the principle of peer recognition.

Up for nomination is two-time winner Mat Ryan, three-time winner Aaron Mooy, K League 2019 Golden Boot winner Adam Taggart and 2019-20 Danish Superliga champion Awer Mabil.

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Ryan was once again an integral part of the Brighton & Hove Albion side that survived Premier League relegation last season.

He played every Premier League minute while making 38 appearances for the Seagulls, amassed nine clean sheets and helped them finish the Premier League season in 15th place; two places and five points better off compared to the previous campaign.

Ryan’s former Brighton teammate, Mooy, also played his part in Brighton’s survival. He made 32 appearances last season, scoring twice and providing two assists before securing a move to Shanghai SIPG FC.

New nominees, Taggart and Mabil also had outstanding seasons for their respective clubs.

Former Newcastle Jets, Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar striker Taggart won the K League golden boot in 2019 with a whopping 20 league goals as Suwon Bluewings finished eighth.

And Mabil scored a career-best eight league goals to help FC Midtjylland lift the Danish Superliga crown with four games to spare.

PFA President Alex Wilkinson congratulated the nominees and paid tribute to their performances last season.

“The list of nominees indicates the calibre of players we have currently playing at the elite level here and in some of the world’s best leagues,” Wilkinson said.

“In a season in which players and clubs have been faced with unprecedented challenges, our members have once again illustrated remarkable resilience and courage and continued to excel on and off the pitch.”

The winners will be revealed following a PFA Member vote.