Rooney named Player of the Season
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been named Barclays Player of the Season for 2009/10.
The England star scooped the prestigious award after a prolific campaign in which his goals and inspirational form have been one of the main reasons United maintained their Barclays Premier League title challenge until the final fixture of the season.
The England forward went agonisingly close to landing the Barclays Golden Boot award as he notched 26 goals in just 32 Barclays Premier League appearances, easily surpassing his previous best tally of 16 goals in the 2005/06 season.
Latest Award
Rooney has found the best form of his career this season, filling the void left by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Old Trafford last summer.
Memorable individual performances have included scoring all four goals in a 4-0 win over Hull City, and claiming his 100th Barclays Premier League career goal in a 3-1 victory at Arsenal.
This is the first time that the Manchester United striker has been named Barclays Player of the Season, and is the latest award in a growing list of accolades which also includes this season's Professional Footballers' Association and Football Writers' Association Player of the Year awards.
The decision was made by the Barclays Awards Panel, which includes representatives from football's governing bodies, the media and fans.
Fact File
* This season Rooney has made 32 appearances scoring 26 goals
* He has made 256 appearances in the Barclays Premier League in total, scoring 106 goals
* On 31st August 2004, Rooney signed for Manchester United in a £25.6m deal, the highest ever fee paid for a player under 20 years old
* Rooney made his United debut on the 28th September 2004, scoring a hat-trick in a 6-2 Champions League win over Turkish side Fenerbache
* Rooney made his league debut for Everton in 2002, five days before his 17th birthday against then reigning champions Arsenal. He scored the winning goal
* After excelling for Liverpool Schoolboys, Rooney was snapped up by Everton at the age of 10
* Wayne Rooney was born on 24th October 1985 in Croxteth, Liverpool