Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year

Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year
The trophy is a scaled-down replica of this statue of Sir Matt Busby outside Old Trafford
Sport Association football
History
First award 1988
Editions 36 (as of 2023)
First winner Brian McClair
Most wins David de Gea

Cristiano Ronaldo

(4 times each)
Most recent Marcus Rashford (1st win)

The Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, previously known as the MUFC Members Player of the Year (1988–1995), is an award presented to the Manchester United fans' player of the season. It is named after former Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby, who managed the club in two spells, from 1945 to 1969 and from 1970 to 1971. The award was renamed in his honour in 1996, following his death in 1994, and a new trophy was commissioned – a scaled-down replica of the statue of Busby at the east end of Old Trafford.

The first winner of the award was Brian McClair in 1988, who also became the first player to win it twice, having also won it in 1992. Since then, seven other players have won the award more than once, of which five have won it in consecutive seasons: Roy Keane (1999, 2000), Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002, 2003), Cristiano Ronaldo (2007, 2008), David de Gea (2014, 2015, 2016), and Bruno Fernandes (2020, 2021). Ronaldo's 2008 win made him the first player to receive the award three times, having also won in 2004. De Gea won the award in 2016 for the third consecutive year, becoming the second player after Ronaldo to do so, and the first in three consecutive seasons. De Gea won the award for a fourth time in 2018, the first player to do so, and Ronaldo joined him after winning his fourth in 2022.

Voting takes place towards the end of each season, usually in April, and is open to anyone who has an account on the club's official website. Voting was originally done by post until the 1994–95 season, when a phone voting system was introduced. Postal voting forms were included in the club magazine, Inside United, and before that, voting was open only to members of the official supporters' club, who would receive a voting form in the post at the end of the season. Until the establishment of the official supporters' club, a separate award had been given by the members of its predecessor, the independent Manchester United Supporters Club.

Other end-of-season awards given by Manchester United include the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year Award, the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award, the Players' Player of the Year Award, and the Goal of the Season Award. Of these, the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award and the Players' Player of the Year Award are voted for by the players. The prizes for all five awards are given at an annual awards night, which is held near the end of the league season and broadcast live on the club's television channel, MUTV. A list of winners of the youth awards can be seen here.

Winners

Head and shoulders of a man with greying hair.
Brian McClair won the inaugural award in 1988.
The head and torso of a man with short, dark hair. He is wearing a red shirt.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the only outfield player to have won the award four times.
David de Gea holds the joint record for most wins with four, and was the first to win the award in three consecutive seasons.

Players in bold are still playing for Manchester United

Season Name Nationality Position Notes Ref.
1987–88 Brian McClair Scotland Forward
1988–89 Bryan Robson England Midfielder First English winner
1989–90 Gary Pallister England Defender
1990–91 Mark Hughes Wales Forward First Academy graduate to win award
1991–92 Brian McClair Scotland Forward First player to win the award on two occasions
1992–93 Paul Ince England Midfielder
1993–94 Eric Cantona France Forward First winner from outside the United Kingdom
1994–95 Andrei Kanchelskis Russia Midfielder
1995–96 Eric Cantona France Forward
1996–97 David Beckham England Midfielder
1997–98 Ryan Giggs Wales Midfielder
1998–99 Roy Keane Republic of Ireland Midfielder
1999–2000 Roy Keane Republic of Ireland Midfielder First player to win the award in consecutive years
2000–01 Teddy Sheringham England Forward
2001–02 Ruud van Nistelrooy Netherlands Forward
2002–03 Ruud van Nistelrooy Netherlands Forward
2003–04 Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal Midfielder
2004–05 Gabriel Heinze Argentina Defender First winner from outside Europe
2005–06 Wayne Rooney England Forward
2006–07 Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal Midfielder
2007–08 Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal Midfielder First player to win the award on three occasions
2008–09 Nemanja Vidić Serbia Defender
2009–10 Wayne Rooney England Forward
2010–11 Javier Hernández Mexico Forward First winner from North America
2011–12 Antonio Valencia Ecuador Midfielder
2012–13 Robin van Persie Netherlands Forward
2013–14 David de Gea Spain Goalkeeper First goalkeeper to win the award
2014–15 David de Gea Spain Goalkeeper
2015–16 David de Gea Spain Goalkeeper First player to win the award in three consecutive years
2016–17 Ander Herrera Spain Midfielder
2017–18 David de Gea Spain Goalkeeper First player to win the award on four occasions
2018–19 Luke Shaw England Defender
2019–20 Bruno Fernandes Portugal Midfielder
2020–21 Bruno Fernandes Portugal Midfielder
2021–22 Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal Forward Record-equalling fourth award
2022–23 Marcus Rashford England Forward

Wins by player

Winner Total wins Year(s)
Cristiano Ronaldo 4 2004, 2007, 2008, 2022
David de Gea 4 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
Brian McClair 2 1988, 1992
Eric Cantona 2 1994, 1996
Roy Keane 2 1999, 2000
Ruud van Nistelrooy 2 2002, 2003
Wayne Rooney 2 2006, 2010
Bruno Fernandes 2 2020, 2021
Bryan Robson 1 1989
Gary Pallister 1 1990
Mark Hughes 1 1991
Paul Ince 1 1993
Andrei Kanchelskis 1 1995
David Beckham 1 1997
Ryan Giggs 1 1998
Teddy Sheringham 1 2001
Gabriel Heinze 1 2005
Nemanja Vidić 1 2009
Javier Hernández 1 2011
Antonio Valencia 1 2012
Robin van Persie 1 2013
Ander Herrera 1 2017
Luke Shaw 1 2019
Marcus Rashford 1 2023

Wins by playing position

Position Number of wins
Goalkeeper 4
Defender 4
Midfielder 14
Forward 14

Wins by nationality

Nationality Number of winners
England 9
Portugal 6
Spain 5
Netherlands 3
France 2
Republic of Ireland 2
Scotland 2
Wales 2
Argentina 1
Russia 1
Serbia 1
Mexico 1
Ecuador 1

Players' Player of the Year

Season Name Nationality Position Notes Ref.
2005–06 Ryan Giggs Wales Midfielder Inaugural winner
2006–07 Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal Forward First non-British winner
2007–08 Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal Forward First player to win the award in consecutive years
2008–09 Nemanja Vidić Serbia Defender
2009–10 Wayne Rooney England Forward
2010–11 Nani Portugal Forward
2011–12 Antonio Valencia Ecuador Forward First non-European winner
2012–13 Michael Carrick England Midfielder
2013–14 David de Gea Spain Goalkeeper
2014–15 David de Gea Spain Goalkeeper
2015–16 Chris Smalling England Defender
2016–17 Antonio Valencia Ecuador Defender
2017–18 David de Gea Spain Goalkeeper First player to win the award on three occasions
2018–19 Luke Shaw England Defender
2019–20 Anthony Martial France Forward
2020–21 Luke Shaw England Defender
2021–22 David de Gea Spain Goalkeeper First player to win the award on four occasions
2022–23 Marcus Rashford England Forward