Jamie Carragher has revealed a rule he enforced in the Liverpool dressing room that favoured Steven Gerrard.
Following The FIFA Best Awards 2023 earlier this week, the topic of individual awards in football has again taken centre stage.
Lionel Messi pipped Erling Haaland to the main men's prize, winning by virtue of receiving the most first-choice votes after the pair tied on points.
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When the votes cast by national team captains were revealed after the ceremony, fans were surprised to see that Messi voted for his direct rivals for the award, Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
In a recent episode of the Stick to Football podcast by Sky Bet, the topic of players voting for their peers in awards was raised.
After Ian Wright and Jill Scott explained how they used to make their selections for the PFA Players' Player of the Year, former Liverpool' vice-captain Carragher revealed how he influenced the voting of his teammates.
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"I’d get the [PFA] forms [at Liverpool] and if I thought someone had a decent chance of winning something – Stevie [Gerrard], or Fernando Torres for player of the year – it would be like [in the changing room], ‘Well no one can vote for his rival’!" he said.
"I’d make sure of that! I’d tell players ‘You can’t vote for him’!"
A Liverpool players won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award just once during Carragher's 17-year career at Anfield, with Gerrard taking the prize in 2005/06.
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Fernando Torres was named in the PFA Team of the Season for both the 2007/08 and 2008/09 campaigns, but he never won the Players' Player award.
Manchester City striker Haaland was named the Players' Player of the year and the Premier League Young Player of the Year last season after firing Pep Guardiola's side to the title with a record-breaking haul of 36 goals.
Featured Image Credit: Getty and Sky BetTopics: Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Liverpool, Fernando Torres