The last Chelsea player to have won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year was John Terry in the 2004-05 season. In fact, he is the only Chelsea player to have won this prestigious award. For some reason or the other, Chelsea players simply have not been able to win this trophy despite being way ahead of their competitors. Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard at the peak of their careers immediately spring to the mind.
Eden Hazard is of the opinion that this curse should not befall Juan Mata.
The Spaniard was clearly been one of the best players for Chelsea last season, but he has moved to another level this season. The £24 million arrival from Valencia has managed to score 18 goals and make 30 assists over the course of the campaign.
It is frightening to imagine the figures he will have at the end of the season if he goes at this rate. The media would have surely called him the best player in the world had he been playing for Barcelona. Such is the media partiality towards Chelsea that even Gareth Bale, who has just four goals more than Mata, is spoken of as a £50 million player.
However, Mata’s exploits have not gone unnoticed as his teammate Hazard believes that he should win the award this season.
“He deserves to be the Player of the Year. Definitely. There are others who have performed very well this season but he’s my colleague, so I would back him.
“He has that ability to see and make the pass that others wouldn’t and sees it faster than others.
“It’s a pleasure to play alongside Juan. He’s one of the best footballers in the Premier League,” said the Belgian to Sky Sports.
Of course, critics will argue that Mata is not going to win the Premier League title. Hence, he is unlikely to land this award. If it is an individual award, then surely only individual performances matter. In that regard, there are few better than Mata.
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