Jordan Henderson has been rewarded for his outstanding season on and off the pitch by being named the FWA Footballer of the Year.

He becomes the 12th Liverpool player to claim the individual prize and the first since Mohamed Salah just two years ago.

The Reds captain beat off competition from his own team-mates including Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane and also Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne and Marcus Rashford to cap off an extraordinary 12 months.

The Premier League champions dominated the voting but Henderson still received more than a quarter of the votes.

As well as the top five of Henderson, De Bruyne, Rashford, Van Dijk and Mane, 10 other players received votes from FWA members including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Raheem Sterling, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Sergio Aguero, Adama Traore, Danny Ings, Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Jonny Evans.

Henderson’s charitable work off the pitch has not gone unnoticed, either.

The 30-year-old instigated the #playerstogether initiative at the height of the coronavirus crisis to ‘distribute money to where it is needed most’ in the fight against the global pandemic.

Henderson paid tributes to his team-mates again as he followed in the footsteps of Salah, Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez in claiming the award.

He said: ‘I’d like to say how appreciative I am of the support of those who voted for me and the Football Writers’ Association in general. 

‘You only have to look at the past winners of it, a number of whom I’ve been blessed to play with here at Liverpool, like Stevie (Gerrard), Luis (Suarez) and Mo (Salah) to know how prestigious it is.

‘But as grateful as I am I don’t feel like I can accept this on my own. I don’t feel like anything I’ve achieved this season or in fact during my whole career has been done on my own. 

‘I owe a lot to so many different people – but none more so than my current team-mates – who have just been incredible and deserve this every bit as much as I do.

‘We’ve only achieved what we’ve achieved because every single member of our squad has been brilliant.

And not just in matches. Not just in producing the moments that make the headlines and the back pages but every day in training. 

‘The players who’ve started the most games for us this season have been as good as they have been because of our culture and our environment at Melwood.

No one individual is responsible for that – it’s a collective effort and that’s how I view accepting this honour.

How sportsmail called it

Should he maintain the levels he has so thrillingly found – do not forget that last week England’s fans recognised him as the Player of the Year for 2019 – the Premier League title might not be the only trophy he lifts. Do not be surprised if the gong comes his way.

‘I accept it on behalf of this whole squad, because without them I’m not in a position to be receiving this honour.

These lads have made me a better player – a better leader and a better person.

‘If anything I hope those who voted for me did so partly to recognise the entire team’s contribution.

‘Individual awards are nice and they are special and I will cherish this one. But an individual award without the collective achievement wouldn’t mean anywhere as much to me – if anything at all.’

FWA chair, Carrie Brown, saluted Henderson for his sterling work off the pitch: ‘Leadership is intangible and often unquantifiable unless it is inarguable.

Jordan Henderson is both the ultimate professional and now a bona fide Liverpool legend. -Dailymail