Like the division itself, the Premier League Player of the Month award has evolved considerably since its inception.
The emergence and subsequent prominence of social media has turned the crowning of the monthly award into somewhat of an event.
The award is significant enough to make it onto a player's individual honours list on Wikipedia and there's almost a guarantee that disgruntled supporters will vent their frustrations at their favourite player being pipped to the post by an undoubtedly more suitable alternative.
From Diafra Sakho to Erling Haaland and Mickey Evans to Thierry Henry, the Player of the Month award celebrates both unlikely purple patches and sustained brilliance.
Here's everything you need to know about the Premier League's Player of the Month award.
History of the Premier League Player of the Month award
The Premier League Player of the Month award has been handed out to the month's standout performer since the start of the 1994/95 season, a year after the inaugural Manager of the Month award was handed out.
Tottenham striker Jurgen Klinsmann became the first-ever Premier League Player of the Month in August 1994.
The award has since been received by some of the all-time greats, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. The honour has also been shared on six occasions, with teammates taking co-honours in five of these instances. However, there hasn't been a joint-Player of the Month since April 2014.
For sponsorship purposes, the award has been called the EA Sports Player of the Month since 2016 and was previously known as the Carling Premiership Player of the Month (1994–2001), the Barclaycard Premiership Player of the Month (2001–2004) and the Barclays Player of the Month (2004–2016).
How does voting for Player of the Month work?
There are typically six players shortlisted for the Premier League Player of the Month award. A winner is then chosen by a combination of a public vote and the opinions of an 'expert panel'.
However, to avoid bias swinging the vote too heavily in a particular player's favour, the public vote accounts for just 10% of the overall decision. Thus, the award is pretty much decided by the experts - a panel made up of former players, journalists, referees and the captains of every Premier League club.
Who has won the Premier League Player of the Month award the most?
The two current leaders regarding most Premier League Player of the Month wins are no longer plying their trade in the English top flight.
Sergio Aguero departed Manchester City having won the award seven times and his tally was matched by Harry Kane before he left Tottenham for Bayern Munich in 2023. While Aguero is fully retired, there's a chance Kane returns to the Premier League in a bid to break Alan Shearer's all-time goal record before he hangs up his boots.
Steven Gerrard and Cristiano Ronaldo were both crowned the league's Player of the Month on six occasions, while Mohamed Salah has the most wins among players still present in the Premier League (five).
Every Premier League Player of the Month winner
Month | Year | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
August | 1994 | Jurgen Klinsmann | Tottenham |
September | 1994 | Rob Lee | Newcastle |
October | 1994 | Paul Ince | Manchester United |
November | 1994 | Alan Shearer & Chris Sutton | Blackburn Rovers |
December | 1994 | Matt Le Tissier | Southampton |
January | 1995 | Chris Waddle | Sheffield Wednesday |
February | 1995 | Duncan Ferguson | Everton |
March | 1995 | Tony Yeboah | Leeds |
April | 1995 | David Seaman | Arsenal |
August | 1995 | David Ginola | Newcastle |
September | 1995 | Tony Yeboah | Leeds |
October | 1995 | Trevor Sinclair | QPR |
November | 1995 | Rob Lee | Newcastle |
December | 1995 | Robbie Fowler | Liverpool |
January | 1996 | Stan Collymore & Robbie Fowler | Liverpool |
February | 1996 | Dwight Yorke | Aston Villa |
March | 1996 | Eric Cantona | Manchester United |
April | 1996 | Andrei Kanchelskis | Everton |
August | 1996 | David Beckham | Manchester United |
September | 1996 | Patrick Berger | Liverpool |
October | 1996 | Matt Le Tissier | Southampton |
November | 1996 | Ian Wright | Arsenal |
December | 1996 | Gianfranco Zola | Chelsea |
January | 1997 | Tim Flowers | Blackburn Rovers |
February | 1997 | Robbie Earle | Wimbledon |
March | 1997 | Juninho | Middlesbrough |
April | 1997 | Mickey Evans | Southampton |
August | 1997 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal |
September | 1997 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal |
October | 1997 | Paulo Wanchope | Derby County |
November | 1997 | Andy Cole & Kevin Davies | Manchester United & Southampton |
December | 1997 | Steve McManaman | Liverpool |
January | 1998 | Dion Dublin | Coventry |
February | 1998 | Chris Sutton | Blackburn Rovers |
March | 1998 | Alex Manninger | Arsenal |
April | 1998 | Emmanuel Petit | Arsenal |
August | 1998 | Michael Owen | Liverpool |
September | 1998 | Alan Shearer | Newcastle |
October | 1998 | Roy Keane | Manchester United |
November | 1998 | Dion Dublin | Aston Villa |
December | 1998 | David Ginola | Tottenham |
January | 1999 | Dwight Yorke | Manchester United |
February | 1999 | Nicolas Anelka | Arsenal |
March | 1999 | Ray Parlour | Arsenal |
April | 1999 | Kevin Campbell | Everton |
August | 1999 | Robbie Keane | Coventry |
September | 1999 | Muzzy Izzet | Leicester |
October | 1999 | Kevin Phillips | Sunderland |
November | 1999 | Sami Hyypia | Liverpool |
December | 1999 | Roy Keane | Manchester United |
January | 2000 | Gareth Southgate | Aston Villa |
February | 2000 | Paul Merson | Aston Villa |
March | 2000 | Dwight Yorke | Manchester United |
April | 2000 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal |
August | 2000 | Alan Smith | Leeds |
September | 2000 | Tim Flowers | Leicester |
October | 2000 | Teddy Sheringham | Manchester United |
November | 2000 | Paul Robinson | Leeds |
December | 2000 | James Beattie | Southampton |
January | 2001 | Robbie Keane | Leeds |
February | 2001 | Stuart Pearce | West Ham |
March | 2001 | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool |
April | 2001 | Gary McAllister | Liverpool |
August | 2001 | Louis Saha | Fulham |
September | 2001 | Juan Sebastian Veron | Manchester United |
October | 2001 | Rio Ferdinand | Leeds |
November | 2001 | Danny Murphy | Liverpool |
December | 2001 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United |
January | 2002 | Marcus Bent | Ipswich Town |
February | 2002 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United |
March | 2002 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal |
April | 2002 | Freddie Ljungberg | Arsenal |
August | 2002 | Sylvain Wiltord | Arsenal |
September | 2002 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal |
October | 2002 | Gianfranco Zola | Chelsea |
November | 2002 | James Beattie | Southampton |
December | 2002 | Alan Shearer | Newcastle |
January | 2003 | Paul Scholes | Manchester United |
February | 2003 | Robert Pires | Arsenal |
March | 2003 | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool |
April | 2003 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United |
August | 2003 | Teddy Sheringham | Portsmouth |
September | 2003 | Frank Lampard | Chelsea |
October | 2003 | Alan Shearer | Newcastle |
November | 2003 | Jay-Jay Okocha | Bolton |
December | 2003 | Paul Scholes | Manchester United |
January | 2004 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal |
February | 2004 | Dennis Bergkamp & Edu | Arsenal |
March | 2004 | Mikael Forssell | Birmingham |
April | 2004 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal |
August | 2004 | Jose Antonio Reyes | Arsenal |
September | 2004 | Ledley King | Tottenham |
October | 2004 | Andrew Johnson | Crystal Palace |
November | 2004 | Arjen Robben | Chelsea |
December | 2004 | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool |
January | 2005 | John Terry | Chelsea |
February | 2005 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United |
March | 2005 | Joe Cole | Chelsea |
April | 2005 | Frank Lampard | Chelsea |
August | 2005 | Darren Bent | Charlton |
September | 2005 | Danny Murphy | Charlton |
October | 2005 | Frank Lampard | Chelsea |
November | 2005 | Robin van Persie | Arsenal |
December | 2005 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United |
January | 2006 | Anton Ferdinand | West Ham |
February | 2006 | Kevin Nolan | Bolton |
March | 2006 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United |
April | 2006 | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool |
August | 2006 | Ryan Giggs | Manchester United |
September | 2006 | Andrew Johnson | Everton |
October | 2006 | Paul Scholes | Manchester United |
November | 2006 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United |
December | 2006 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United |
January | 2007 | Cesc Fabregas | Arsenal |
February | 2007 | Ryan Giggs | Manchester United |
March | 2007 | Petr Cech | Chelsea |
April | 2007 | Robbie Keane & Dimitar Berbatov | Tottenham |
August | 2007 | Micah Richards | Manchester City |
September | 2007 | Cesc Fabregas | Arsenal |
October | 2007 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United |
November | 2007 | Gabriel Agbonlahor | Aston Villa |
December | 2007 | Roque Santa Cruz | Blackburn Rovers |
January | 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United |
February | 2008 | Fernando Torres | Liverpool |
March | 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United |
April | 2008 | Ashley Young | Aston Villa |
August | 2008 | Deco | Chelsea |
September | 2008 | Ashley Young | Aston Villa |
October | 2008 | Frank Lampard | Chelsea |
November | 2008 | Nicolas Anelka | Chelsea |
December | 2008 | Ashley Young | Aston Villa |
January | 2009 | Nemanja Vidic | Manchester United |
February | 2009 | Phil Jagielka | Everton |
March | 2009 | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool |
April | 2009 | Andrey Arshavin | Arsenal |
August | 2009 | Jermain Defoe | Tottenham |
September | 2009 | Fernando Torres | Liverpool |
October | 2009 | Robin van Persie | Arsenal |
November | 2009 | Jimmy Bullard | Hull |
December | 2009 | Carlos Tevez | Manchester City |
January | 2010 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United |
February | 2010 | Mark Schwarzer | Fulham |
March | 2010 | Florent Malouda | Chelsea |
April | 2010 | Gareth Bale | Tottenham |
August | 2010 | Paul Scholes | Manchester United |
September | 2010 | Peter Odemwingie | West Brom |
October | 2010 | Rafael van der Vaart | Tottenham |
November | 2010 | Johan Elmander | Bolton |
December | 2010 | Samir Nasri | Arsenal |
January | 2011 | Dimitar Berbatov | Manchester United |
February | 2011 | Scott Parker | West Ham |
March | 2011 | David Luiz | Chelsea |
April | 2011 | Peter Odemwingie | West Brom |
August | 2011 | Edin Dzeko | Manchester City |
September | 2011 | David Silva | Manchester City |
October | 2011 | Robin van Persie | Arsenal |
November | 2011 | Scott Parker | Tottenham |
December | 2011 | Demba Ba | Newcastle |
January | 2012 | Gareth Bale | Tottenham |
February | 2012 | Peter Odemwingie | West Brom |
March | 2012 | Gylfi Sigurdsson | Swansea |
April | 2012 | Nikica Jelavic | Everton |
September | 2012 | Steven Fletcher | Sunderland |
October | 2012 | Juan Mata | Chelsea |
November | 2012 | Marouane Fellaini | Everton |
December | 2012 | Robin van Persie | Manchester United |
January | 2013 | Adam Le Fondre | Reading |
February | 2013 | Gareth Bale | Tottenham |
March | 2013 | Jan Vertonghen | Tottenham |
April | 2013 | Robin van Persie | Manchester United |
August | 2013 | Daniel Sturridge | Liverpool |
September | 2013 | Aaron Ramsey | Arsenal |
October | 2013 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City |
November | 2013 | Tim Krul | Newcastle |
December | 2013 | Luis Suarez | Liverpool |
January | 2014 | Adam Johnson | Sunderland |
February | 2014 | Daniel Sturridge | Liverpool |
March | 2014 | Luis Suarez & Steven Gerrard | Liverpool |
April | 2014 | Connor Wickham | Sunderland |
August | 2014 | Diego Costa | Chelsea |
September | 2014 | Graziano Pelle | Southampton |
October | 2014 | Diafra Sakho | West Ham |
November | 2014 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City |
December | 2014 | Charlie Austin | QPR |
January | 2015 | Harry Kane | Tottenham |
February | 2015 | Harry Kane | Tottenham |
March | 2015 | Olivier Giroud | Arsenal |
April | 2015 | Christian Benteke | Aston Villa |
August | 2015 | Andre Ayew | Swansea |
September | 2015 | Anthony Martial | Manchester United |
October | 2015 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester |
November | 2015 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester |
December | 2015 | Odion Ighalo | Watford |
January | 2016 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City |
February | 2016 | Fraser Forster | Southampton |
March | 2016 | Harry Kane | Tottenham |
April | 2016 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City |
August | 2016 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City |
September | 2016 | Son Heung-min | Tottenham |
October | 2016 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea |
November | 2016 | Diego Costa | Chelsea |
December | 2016 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Manchester United |
January | 2017 | Dele Alli | Tottenham |
February | 2017 | Harry Kane | Tottenham |
March | 2017 | Romelu Lukaku | Everton |
April | 2017 | Son Heung-min | Tottenham |
August | 2017 | Sadio Mane | Liverpool |
September | 2017 | Harry Kane | Tottenham |
October | 2017 | Leroy Sane | Manchester City |
November | 2017 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool |
December | 2017 | Harry Kane | Tottenham |
January | 2018 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City |
February | 2018 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool |
March | 2018 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool |
April | 2018 | Wilfried Zaha | Crystal Palace |
August | 2018 | Lucas Moura | Tottenham |
September | 2018 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea |
October | 2018 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Arsenal |
November | 2018 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City |
December | 2018 | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool |
January | 2019 | Marcus Rashford | Manchester United |
February | 2019 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City |
March | 2019 | Sadio Mane | Liverpool |
April | 2019 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester |
August | 2019 | Teemu Pukki | Norwich |
September | 2019 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Arsenal |
October | 2019 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester |
November | 2019 | Sadio Mane | Liverpool |
December | 2019 | Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool |
January | 2020 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City |
February | 2020 | Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United |
June | 2020 | Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United |
July | 2020 | Michail Antonio | West Ham |
September | 2020 | Dominic Calvert-Lewin | Everton |
October | 2020 | Son Heung-min | Tottenham |
November | 2020 | Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United |
December | 2020 | Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United |
January | 2021 | Ilkay Gundogan | Manchester City |
February | 2021 | Ilkay Gundogan | Manchester City |
March | 2021 | Kelechi Iheanacho | Leicester |
April | 2021 | Jesse Lingard | West Ham |
May | 2021 | Joe Willock | Newcastle |
August | 2021 | Michail Antonio | West Ham |
September | 2021 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United |
October | 2021 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool |
November | 2021 | Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool |
December | 2021 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City |
January | 2022 | David de Gea | Manchester United |
February | 2022 | Joel Matip | Liverpool |
March | 2022 | Harry Kane | Tottenham |
April | 2022 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United |
August | 2022 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City |
September | 2022 | Marcus Rashford | Manchester United |
October | 2022 | Miguel Almiron | Newcastle |
November/December | 2022 | Martin Odegaard | Arsenal |
January | 2023 | Marcus Rashford | Manchester United |
February | 2023 | Marcus Rashford | Manchester United |
March | 2023 | Bukayo Saka | Arsenal |
April | 2023 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City |
August | 2023 | James Maddison | Tottenham |
September | 2023 | Son Heung-min | Tottenham |
October | 2023 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool |
Premier League Player of the Month winners by nationality
Nation | No. of different players to win POTM award | Total POTM wins |
|---|---|---|
England | 67 | 114 |
France | 12 | 17 |
Netherlands | 7 | 16 |
Portugal | 3 | 11 |
Spain | 7 | 10 |
Argentina | 3 | 9 |
Belgium | 5 | 6 |
Nigeria | 4 | 6 |
Ireland | 3 | 6 |
Wales | 3 | 6 |
Despite the Premier League's heavy foreign influence since the start of the 21st century, the Premier League Player of the Month award has been dominated by English players.
67 different English players have won the award, ranging from Rooney to Bent (Marcus and Darren), with these wins accounting for 114 in total.
France is the most successful foreign nations but only 12 different French players have won the award - highlighting England's domination. Thierry Henry is the most successful Frenchman, winning the award four times.
The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain have each accumulated double-digit POTM wins, while Argentina's nine total wins are carried by Aguero's seven victories.
Premier League Player of the Month by club
Club | No. of different players to win POTM award | Total POTM wins |
|---|---|---|
Manchester United | 21 | 45 |
Liverpool | 17 | 33 |
Arsenal | 22 | 32 |
Tottenham | 15 | 26 |
Chelsea | 13 | 19 |
Manchester City | 9 | 19 |
Newcastle | 7 | 10 |
Everton | 9 | 9 |
Aston Villa | 7 | 9 |
Southampton | 6 | 8 |
It's the usual suspects at the top of the tree, with the Premier League's dominant force (once upon a time), Manchester United, boasting 21 different players who have been named the league's Player of the Month.
While many of the names are from a more prosperous time, including Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and David Beckham, both Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford have won the award four times. United's winners have combined for 45 wins, with Liverpool's 33 being the next best.
Arsenal have had the most amount winners, but they've only combined for 32 POTM wins. Dennis Bergkamp matched Henry's four triumphs, but no other Gooner has won the award more than twice.
