Wayne Rooney has been named Sir Matt Busby Player of the
Year for 2010 after a fantastic season for United.
It's the second time he's won the award, as voted
for by United fans around the world, following his original success
in 2006.
He won by a landslide this year, receiving 83 per cent of the votes
cast on ManUtd.com. Patrice Evra and Antonio Valencia were in
second and third place respectively.
On receiving the trophy, Wayne said: "I’m delighted to win the
fans’ Player of the Year award. It's a special feeling and
something I’m really proud of.
"The fans come and watch us all over the country and all over
Europe and pay a lot of money to do it. The support they give us is
unbelievable.
"If we’re playing at home and the game isn’t going right for us and
we need to score a goal to win it, the fans push you on. You can
feel that, you can sense that on the pitch. It’s a magical feeling
really. And the fans away from home are incredible. They’re the
best fans in the world."
Rooney is the first Englishman to be named United's Player of the
Year since Teddy Sheringham in 2001. Should he retain it in 2011,
he'll become only the second man to win it three times, emulating
Cristiano Ronaldo (2004, 2007 and 2008).
Wayne's club accolade completes a personal Player of the Year
hat-trick for this season, after his peers in the PFA and the
nation's top football journalists in the FWA also made him their
top man for 2009/10.
He won a hat-trick of club awards on Tuesday night, also
collecting the Players' Player of the Year accolade from Sir Alex
Ferguson and the Goal of the Season trophy for his strike on the
counter-attack against Arsenal on 31 January.
Wayne admitted he was "a bit surprised I got Goal of the Season. I
think Michael Owen's winner against Manchester City should have won
it.
"But I think the one against Arsenal was the best I scored. Most of
my goals this season have been tap-ins so it was nice to be a bit
more involved in the build-up for a goal like that. It was a quick
break and I was tired at the end of the run!
"It's always nice to score against Arsenal. It came at an important
time in the game, to make it 2-0, and it was a good goal. I was
delighted with it."
Although he could narrowly miss out on a fourth championship medal
this weekend, Rooney is rightly still happy with his work during
2009/10.
"This has definitely been my best season. I’ve played well and I’ve
become more consistent in my goal scoring which is something I
wanted to do. I’ve also scored more headers this season. To score
any goal is great but to score with my head when I’m not the
tallest player is extra special!"