Bale crowned PFA player of the year

Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale has been named the English Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) player of the year.

Bale, who also won in 2011, claimed the peer-review award ahead of Manchester United duo Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick, as well as Chelsea pair Eden Hazard and Juan Mata.

The 23-year-old Welsh forward also became the third player to win both the PFA’s top prize and the young player of the year award in the same season, following on from Andy Gray (1977) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2007).

Bale also joined Ronaldo as one of five players to have claimed the PFA’s player of the year award twice, alongside Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer and Mark Hughes.

Having scored 19 goals in the English Premier League so far this season, Bale only sits behind van Persie (25 goals) and Liverpool’s Luis Suarez (23) on the goal-scoring charts.

Tottenham’s powerful attacker has played 29 of his club’s 34 Premier League matches in this campaign and his season has been defined by the ability to score crucial late goals to claim points.

Bale triumphed over Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke and Hazard in the young player of the year award.