Mohamed Salah wins Footballer of the Year award to match Thierry Henry’s record | OneFootball

Mohamed Salah has been crowned men’s Footballer of the Year for the third time after his goals helped fire Liverpool to the Premier League title, with Arsenal and England striker Alessia Russo winning the women’s award for the first time.

Salah becomes the second player to win a hat-trick of awards from the Football Writers’ Association, joining Arsenal legend Thierry Henry on three wins. Salah won with 90 per cent of the vote, which the FWA said was the biggest winning margin this century.

The Egyptian has scored 28 goals and made 18 assists in the Premier League this season and has appeared in every game as Liverpool won a second title in five years under Arne Slot.

Salah, who last month extended his contract at Liverpool, is on course to win a fourth Premier League Golden Boot and is either a goal or an assist away from equalling the record for most goal involvements in a single Premier League campaign.

Salah has 46, one shy of the record jointly held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole over a 42-game season. His Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk was second, with Newcastle striker Alexander Isak third and Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice fourth.

Salah won his first Footballer of the Year award in his first season at Liverpool in 2017-18 and won it again in 2021-22. Jordan Henderson, who was Liverpool’s captain at the time, picked up the prize in 2019-20, the season the Reds won their first title in 30 years.

Henry won the award three times in four years between 2002-03 and 2005-06. In the last 30 years, Cristiano Ronaldo is the only other Premier League player to have won the award on multiple occasions. Salah is also the favourite to win the Premier League Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Year awards.

Russo beat the Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw to the women’s award after scoring 22 goals across the Women’s Super League and Women’s Champions League this season. The striker helped fire Arsenal into the Women’s Champions League final, where they will play Barcelona in Lisbon on 24 May.

Shaw was second, with Russo’s Arsenal teammate Mariona Caldentey coming third and Chelsea captain Millie Bright fourth.