Gareth Bale bagged PFA Player of the Year & Young Player of the Year awards

Gareth Bale proved unstoppable again on Sunday night as he picked up both the PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards.

The 23-year-old Tottenham winger became only the third man to win the double accolade, following then-Aston Villa striker Andy Gray in 1976-77 and Cristiano Ronaldo six years ago.

Bale also joined Mark Hughes, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry and Ronaldo as the only men to have won the main award twice, after his first triumph in 2010-11.

Bale said: ‘It’s a massive honour. To be voted by your peers is one of the biggest things in the game. It’s great to win it and I am delighted.

‘When you look at the list there are some massive names on it but I couldn’t have done it without the team. They have been fantastic this year and so has the manager, so I would like to give them all a big thank you as well.

‘The other nominees have been unbelievable, they have been outstanding for their clubs and it’s a massive moment to win, especially as it’s both awards. It’s something that I’m extremely proud of.’

Bale has almost single-handedly kept Spurs in contention for a place in next season’s Champions League, scoring 19 goals in 29 Premier League appearances, including a goal-of-the-season contender at West Ham and one in Tottenham’s first win at Manchester United in 23 years.

The Welshman was presented with the main trophy at the PFA’s annual awards dinner in London. He finished top of a shortlist that included Manchester United pair Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick, Chelsea duo Juan Mata and Eden Hazard, and controversial Liverpool striker Luis Suarez.

All six players were named in the PFA’s Premier League Team of the Year, along with David de Gea and Rio Ferdinand of Manchester United, Pablo Zabaleta of Manchester City, Everton’s Leighton Baines and another Tottenham player, Belgian Jan Vertonghen.

Team of the Year