Suarez overlooked as Tottenham’s Bale claims Football Writers’ Player of the Year award.
Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale has been named the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year.
The Welsh winger picked up 53% of the vote, finishing comfortably clear of Manchester United’s Robin van Persie who was second with 43%, in the poll of 364 journalists.
Liverpool’s Luis Suarez, who has scored 21 Premier League goals this season and was a contender for PFA Player of the Year, received just two votes, while Chelsea’s Juan Mata finished third.
The vote came just days after Suarez, 26, had controversially bitten Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in the 2-2 Premier League draw at Anfield.
The FWA said there had been a wide range of votes for the likes of Leighton Baines, Pablo Zabaleta, Michu, Michael Carrick and Rickie Lambert.
Bale has now picked up both PFA Player and Young Player of the Year and Football Writers Player of the Year, completing a remark cleansweep for the Welshman.
He is the first Spurs player to win the award since David Ginola in 1999 and the first Welshman to win the trophy since Neville Southall in 1985.
“It is a huge honour to receive the Footballer of the Year award from the Football Writers’ Association,” the 23-year-told told the FWA official website.
“It means a lot to win this award when you consider the number of players that have been outstanding for their clubs in the Barclays Premier League this season.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be playing in such a fantastic team and I owe a lot to my team-mates and, obviously, the manager who has shown such faith in me.
“This award has been won in the past by some of the greatest names in football and I consider it a privilege that the FWA have selected me to be named alongside them.”
Bale has scored 19 Premier League goals this season, and 24 in all competitions for Spurs.
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