The Manchester City midfielder is up against the Liverpool trio of Virgil Van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United for the prestigious annual accolade which he has won in each of the previous two seasons.
De Bruyne has been shortlisted for the fourth time in his City career after another outstanding campaign.
The 30-year-old scored a career-high 19 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions to help Pep Guardiola’s side win a fourth title in five seasons and was on target with crucial strikes as he delivered typically influential performances in big games against Liverpool, Chelsea and United.
De Bruyne, who became the first City player to win the men’s PFA award in 2019/20, will be the first player to collect the trophy on three occasions if he is successful this year, moving clear of two-time winners Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Thierry Henry, Mark Hughes and Alan Shearer.
The Belgian has already been voted Premier League Player of the Season and Etihad Player of the Season for 2021/22.
He will find out if he has added a third individual prize to his collection on Thursday 9 June, when the winners will be revealed on the PFA’s social media channels in a broadcast which begins at 19:00 (UK).
The PFA awards are voted for by members from England’s 92 Premier League and Football League clubs and this season, City also have representatives in three other categories.
Phil Foden is up for the Young Player of the Year award, whilst Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp are both in contention for the Women’s Players’ Player of the Year prize, with the latter also shortlisted for Women’s Young Player of the Year.
