Top 10 Players To Have Never Won The PFA Player Of The Year

jonjoward1998
May 8, 2025
8 min read

The PFA Player of the Year award is the one that every player wants to win at the start of the season and especially the best ones.

And whilst many of the great players have won the award, there have also been a number of great players who haven't won the award.

Any player can have an incredible season for their club and no matter how good they've been over the course of a season, they just fall short of winning the award.

Anyone who has had a great season can get nominated for the award, but only one player can win it and that is often the player who has been the most influential.

There could be another player in a team who is as influential and no matter how important they've been to their team in a season, they somehow end up missing out on the award and the names in the list are among them.

Here is the list:

Harry Kane

Sergio Aguero

David Silva

Frank Lampard

Didier Drogba

Nemanja Vidic

Jamie Vardy

Raheem Sterling

Heung Min Son

Patrick Vieira

Jamie Vardy

Vardy's best and only chance of winning the award came in 2016 for his exploits during Leicester's title winning season.

The award went to his Leicester teammate Riyad Mahrez that year and probably deservedly so as he was arguably the Foxes' most influential player that season.

But there will be some who thought that Vardy should've won the award that season not just because of the goals he scored, including a record breaking 11 game scoring streak, but because of the journey he had been on.

He started out playing in non-league and the journey he went on and has been on since has been absolutely incredible. I don't think we're going to see another player like him.

Heung Min Son

Son hasn't even been nominated for the award never mind won it and for him not be considered is very surprising.

He's been an incredible player for Spurs throughout his time at the club but despite being as good as he has been, he has somehow never been nominated for the award.

There are a few seasons where he could've and should've been nominated and at least two where he could've potentially won it.

2019 was a year where he could've won it as he stepped up as Spurs' main man many times throughout that season when Harry Kane wasn't available, and scored a lot of important goals during Spurs' run in to the Champions League final.

The other year he could've won the award was in 2022 as he had his best goal scoring season by netting 23 times in the league, and won a share of the golden boot with Mohamed Salah, who won the award that season.

How he hasn't even been on any nominations lists is beyond me because he's had a number of fantastic seasons with Spurs.

Raheem Sterling

Sterling's best chance to win the award came in 2019 where he had his best season for goals in all competitions and the majority of them played a key part in Man City winning a domestic treble.

He also became a role model off the pitch that season by standing up to racism and he soon became an ambassador in the fight against racism

He grew a lot as a player during his time at City under Pep Guardiola who turned him into one of the best finishers in Europe and especially during that season, where he also became an important player for England.

He missed out on the award to Virgil Van Dijk in 2019, but he did win the PFA Young Player of the Year and Football Writer's awards.

Nemanja Vidic

Vidic was nominated for the award twice in 2009 and 2011 and he probably should've won the award on both occasions as he played a key and instrumental role in Man United winning the title in both seasons.

His performances at the heart of United's defence were key to United winning the title in both seasons and was probably the best player in the Premier League in both seasons due to how instrumental he was for United in both seasons.

Ryan Giggs won the award in 2009 probably due to the career he had and what he achieved. Gareth Bale won the award in 2011 even though he scored just 7 times and missed a chunk of games towards the end of the season due to injuries.

Those two seasons were without a doubt his best chances to win the award as they were his best two seasons in a Man United shirt and like I mentioned earlier, he was probably the best player in the Premier League in both seasons.

Didier Drogba

Drogba was nominated for the award twice in 2007 and 2010 where he won the golden boot in both seasons.

2010 was probably his best chance to win the award as that season was his best goal scoring season on record after netting 29 times as Chelsea won the title.

The award was won by Wayne Rooney that season and I could understand why as he stepped up as Man United's new talisman following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.

He scored 20 times in 2007 but Chelsea finished six points behind Man United that season and the award was won by Cristiano Ronaldo and deservedly so.

He was a man for the big occasion during his time at Chelsea as he always scored in big games and in big moments. He was tough to play against and one the finest strikers to ever play in the Premier League.

Harry Kane

Kane won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in his breakthrough season at Spurs in 2015 and was nominated for the main one seven times including the year he won the young version.

But despite scoring all those goals for Spurs, he wasn't able to get his hands on the main award and it was probably down to his lack silverware at Spurs.

He could've won the award on at least two occasions with those occasions being in the seasons where Spurs went close to winning the league in 2016 and 2017 respectively. But because Spurs didn't win the league in those seasons, the award was instead given to a title winner in both seasons with Leicester's Riyad Mahrez winning it in 2016 and Chelsea's N'Golo Kante winning it in 2017.

In the other seasons he was nominated in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023, Spurs were nowhere near close to winning or even challenging for the title despite the amount of goals he scored in each of those seasons.

Had he made that move to Man City in the summer they were strongly linked with him, he might've got his hands on the award maybe once or twice because he would've won trophies and scored a lot of goals.

But City pulled out of that deal and got Erling Haaland instead a year later before Kane made the move to Bayern Munich, where he has been in incredible form ever since he arrived there.

Patrick Vieira

Vieira is one of the finest midfielders to have ever played in the Premier League as he was strong, tough, tenacious, and a good carrier of the ball.

He was a crucial part of Arsenal's success during his time at the club due to both his abilities as a player, and his leadership on the pitch. But despite his importance to the team, he never got his hands on the the award.

His best and only chance of winning the award came in 2004 which was the season where Arsenal went the entire season undefeated. He was one of the Gunners' most important players during that season but despite his importance to and influence on the team, the award went to his teammate Thierry Henry instead and deservedly so because of how important his goals were that season.

He brought a toughness to Arsenal's midfield during his time at the club and especially during that season. He was a massive loss for them after he left as they became easy to play against.

Sergio Aguero

Aguero scored the most important goal in Man City's history in his dramatic late winner against QPR to win City their first Premier League title in 2012, and went on to become their record goal scorer.

But he never got his hands on the PFA Player of the Year award despite being nominated just twice in 2012 and 2019.

He didn't even make the shortlist in 2015 despite winning the golden boot that season. City may not have had their best season that year as they finished many points behind title winners Chelsea, but Aguero still could've been nominated because of him winning the golden boot.

Out of the seasons he was nominated for the award, 2012 was probably his best chance to win the award because he was the difference for City that season as they won their first league title in 40 something years. But the award that season went to Robin Van Persie and deservedly after winning the golden boot and scoring 30 goals for Arsenal.

He was the player that took City onto that next level of being serious title contenders and had he not had as many injuries, he might've won maybe one or two PFA Player of the Year awards.

David Silva

Silva took Man City onto another level when he arrived due to his creativity and ability to move with the ball and glide past players effortlessly.

But despite the impact he made at City and the incredible player he was for them, he never got his hands on the PFA Player of the Year award.

He was nominated for the award twice in 2012 and 2018 respectively, but was never really a serious contender to win it as Robin van Persie was the clear winner in 2012, and the 2018 award was a battle between Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne, who were by far the best two players in the league that season.

Out of the two years he was nominated, 2012 was probably his best chance to win it as he picked up more more assists than any other player that season, and also picked up one Man City player of the season award in the Player's Player of the Season.

He was a delightful player to watch on his day because of what he could do with the ball and one of the finest players to ever grace the Premier League.

Frank Lampard

Lampard was nominated for the award for three straight seasons between 2004 and 2006, but never got his hands on the award in each of those seasons with Thierry Henry winning it in 2004, his Chelsea teammate John Terry winning it in 2005 and his England teammate Steven Gerrard winning it in 2006.

2005 and 2006 were the seasons that represented his best chances to win the award as he won the title in both seasons with Chelsea and played a starring role in both teams.

2005 was arguably the better of the two seasons as he topped the assists charts and scooped both the Premier League and Football Writer's Player of the Season awards. But it was Terry who scooped the PFA award that year and probably deservedly so as he was the captain of the Chelsea that won the title and conceded just 15 goals.

He had to be my no.1 because of the player he was and the career and success he had at Chelsea. He's their all-time record goal scorer and one of the greatest midfielders to grace the Premier League.

MY TOP 10: