The PFA Young Player of the Year is awarded at the end of the season alongside the PFA Player of the Year award with players from each club voting for the best player of that season under the age of 23.
The PFA Young Player of the year has recognised many young players that have gone onto to light up the Premier League in the last few years with some even going on to be some of the biggest names in world football.
Here is a look at the Manchester United players who have over the years won the prestigious award.
Mark Hughes (1984-85)
The first Manchester United player to claim the award was way back in 1984-85 season when a young Mark Hughes scooped the award.
84-85 was only Hughes’ second season as a professional after joining United when he left school. He hugely helped manager Ron Atkinson, with his 25 goals in 42 appearances going a long way to helping United finish fourth in the old First Division and claim the FA Cup.
Hughes would go on to win the PFA Player of the Year on two separate occasions after his return from Barcelona and Bayern Munich but there is no doubt that those moves wouldn’t have come to fruition without the exposure the award gave the Welshman.
Lee Sharpe (1990-91)
Many football fans will remember Lee Sharpe for his on the field antics and his trademark celebration but the Englishman was also quite the talented footballer and that was best shown in the 1990/91 season.
Sharpe was integral in United’s European Cup Winner’s Cup winning campaign scoring in the semi-final against Legia Warsaw. He went on to score nine in his 36 total appearances with the highlight been a hat-trick in the 6-2 demolition of Arsenal in the League Cup. Sharpe was rightfully awarded the PFA Young Player award in what was arguably his best season during his time at Old Trafford.
Ryan Giggs (1991-92) (1992-93)
United youth players dominated the award in the early 1990’s with one of the best players to pull on a Manchester United shirt following in the footsteps of Sharpe in the form of Ryan Giggs.
Giggs was the first of the infamous Class of '92 making his professional debut towards the back end of the 1990/91 season but was thrown straight into the first team the next season making 51 appearances. He grabbed his opportunity with both hands helping United to a League Cup triumph and a second place finish in the final season of the old First Division.
The Welshman stepped it up another gear in the debut season of the Premier League era and having established himself as first-choice left winger he proved integral in United winning the league title for the first time in 26 years with 11 goals in 46 appearances along with his other heroics making sure he claimed the PFA award again for the second consecutive year.
David Beckham (1996-97)
The next United player to win the award was another graduate of the Class of 92’ and it would prove to be one of the first steps for David Beckham to become the global superstar that he is today.
After a successful loan spell at Preston North End, Beckham along with other Class of 92’ graduates were thrown straight into the first team but it was Beckham who shone the brightest in the 95/96 season announcing himself with that excellent halfway line effort against Wimbledon.
That would become of the defining moments of Beckham’s illustrious but he didn’t stop there that season proving crucial in his 40 appearances with eight goals as United went onto to win yet another League and FA Cup double.
Wayne Rooney (2004-05) (2005-06)
It would be another seven years before another Manchester United player would win the trophy but it would be Wayne Rooney who would start a three-year domination of the award way back in his debut season at Old Trafford in 2004-05.
Rooney had a point to prove after his £30million transfer from Everton and proved many of his sceptics wrong with a hat-trick on his debut against Fenerbache and went on to have a fantastic debut season, despite not winning any silverware, ending as the club’s top scorer in the league with 11 earning him the gong.
Rooney upped his performances the season after winning the League Cup and put United the brink of their first title in two seasons with his 16 league goals in 36 appearances. An injury ended his season and United’s title hopes, but the Englishman had done enough to win the award for the second season in a United shirt.
Cristiano Ronaldo (2006-07)
The last United player to win the award has gone on to become arguably the best player on the planet in Cristiano Ronaldo.
It had taken Ronaldo a few seasons to settle into the style of the English game, but an incident involving Wayne Rooney at that summer’s World Cup looked to permanently damage the Portuguese’s chance in the England.
Despite the abuse that he faced at every ground that he visited Ronaldo was United’s star player as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and was crucial in United securing their first title in three seasons.
His influence was rewarded with forward winning both the PFA Player and Young Player of the year awards the first to do so since Andy Gray in 1977 as well as the PFA Fans player of the year and Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year the first player ever to amass all four of those major awards.