Solid rock at the back: Ruben Dias is 2020/21 Premier League Player of the Season
Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 05.06.21. | 14:48
It's a deserved accolade for the champions' centre-back
Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has been named Premier League player of the season. The 24-year-old Portugal international was influential in central defence as City won a third title in four years. He was named men's footballer of the year by the Football Writers' Association in May.
Dias, signed from Benfica for about $74.8 million last September, made 32 league appearances for City over the season, playing a part in 15 clean sheets.
City won 23 of the league matches Dias played, as they also won the Carabao Cup and finished as runners-up in the Champions League.
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— Premier League (@premierleague) June 5, 2021
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The winner is decided by votes from the public, combined with those of the 20 Premier League club captains and a panel of football experts.
Speaking to Manchester City website recently, the Portuguese star indicated that despite all the praise and accolades, he firmly believes that every match is won and lost by the team.
"In the end, football is a collective sport, not an individual sport. You have many things to learn from individual sports, but our sport is more complete. It requires more capacities from you, and I’ve always tried to build on that, to be better on those chapters. It has always been part of my game to help whoever I am playing with – whether it’s the centre-back, right-back… everyone."
The other nominees were Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne, Tottenham's Golden Boot winner Harry Kane, Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Chelsea's Mason Mount, West Ham's Tomas Soucek and Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish.
Only three other defenders have ever won Premier League Player of the Season:
— Goal (@goal) June 5, 2021
Nemanja Vidic: 08/09 ????
Nemanja Vidic: 10/11 ????
Vincent Kompany: 11/12 ????
Virgil van Dijk: 18/19 ????
Ruben Dias: 20/21 ????
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Dias was also named in the Professional Footballers Association's (PFA) Premier League Team of the Year, and is in contention to win the PFA Player of the Year award.
His partnership with John Stones at the heart of Guardiola's defence, which conceded only 32 goals in total in the league, played a key part in City's Premier League triumph. After just one win in their first three league games, Dias' increasing influence in the side helped them go on a staggering 21-game win streak in all competitions, including 15 successive victories in the Premier League.
