Luis Suarez Named Premier League Player Of The Year

Luis Suarez has unsurprisingly been named the PFA Player of the Year at an awards ceremony in London.

The 27-year-old Liverpool striker has been in startling form this campaign, and his goals have left the Merseyside club on the brink of their first English championship in over 20 years.

Unfortunately Liverpool’s title ambitions were severely dented on Sunday afternoon when they lost 2-0 at Anfield to Chelsea. However, despite this setback, the squad made the journey down from the Northern city to London to watch Suarez collect the honour.

“The Premier League is full of really great players and so it is a great honour when these players recognise your work on the pitch,” Suarez stated upon collecting the gong.

He continued, “I always try my best for the team and it is nice to get awards but really this is for my team-mates and the staff at Liverpool because without their help I wouldn’t have this prize.”

The Uruguayan has scored a startling 30 goals this season, even though he didn’t play in the first four matches because he had been banned for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic last April. By reaching this total he has become the first Liverpool player since Ian Rush in 1987 to score 30 goals in a single season.

Suarez’s time in England has been blighted by controversy, even though he has consistently produced dazzling displays on the field. He arrived at Liverpool from Ajax for a fee of $30million in January 2011, but then in the following December the Football Association banned him for eight matches after they found him guilty of racially abusing Manchester United full-back, Patrice Evra.

Then in February 2013 he bit Ivanovic during a match with Chelsea, something he had previously been found guilty of while playing in Holland for Ajax, which saw him receive a further ten-game ban. Suarez was also the subject of two $60million bids from Arsenal this summer, as the Gunners tried to prize away the coveted centre-forward.

Eden Hazard also collected an accolade at the glitzy event, which annually celebrates the best Premier League players of the season. The 23-year-old Chelsea midfielder was awarded the Young Player of the Season prize.

The Belgian, who is currently sidelined with an injury, declared upon accepting the trophy, “It’s always good to win awards because it means you’ve had a good season, but I prefer to win things collectively and I must say thank you to all my Chelsea team-mates, the staff and the fans.”

[Image via mooinblack/Shutterstock]