Manchester City defender Ruben Dias on Saturday was named as the Premier League Player of the Season.
As a result, he has now become the second Portuguese to win the award after a stunning debut campaign for the Premier League 2020-21 season winners Manchester City.
He is also only the second Portuguese player to win the award, after Cristiano Ronaldo for Man Utd in 2006/07 and 2007/08.
"The Manchester City centre-back follows in the footsteps of teammate Kevin De Bruyne, who claimed the award in 2019/20," stated an official Premier League release.
He beat seven other nominees to the award in De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Mason Mount, Mohamed Salah and Tomas Soucek.
Dias was pivotal to the club's third Premier League title in four years as he made an immediate impact following his move from Benfica in September 2020.
The 24-year-old fitted seamlessly into Pep Guardiola's side and emerged as a leader at the back as City went on a 15-match winning streak, the fourth-longest such run in Premier League history.
Dias contributed to 15 clean sheets, winning 23 of his 32 matches played and making 35 interceptions, 24 tackles, 23 blocks, and 135 recoveries.
He also helped City win the EFL Cup and reach the UEFA Champions League final.
Dias is only the fourth defender in history to be named Player of the Season, emulating Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic, former City captain Vincent Kompany, and Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk.
( With inputs from ANI )
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