Mahrez finished ahead of fellow Leicester players Jamie Vardy and
N'Golo Kante, Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, Arsenal's Mesut Ozil
and West Ham United's Dimitri Payet.
Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez applauds fans after the game.
Reuters / Darren Staples
Leicester City forward Riyad Mahrez was named English soccer's player of the year by the Professional Footballers' Association on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Algerian international, the first Leicester player and first African
to win the award, has scored 17 goals and made 11 assists in 34 league
games to help Leicester move to the brink of their first English
top-flight title.
Mahrez finished ahead of fellow
Leicester players Jamie Vardy and N'Golo Kante, Tottenham Hotspur
striker Harry Kane, Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and West Ham United's Dimitri
Payet.
The Algerian praised the contribution of
his team mates and manager Claudio Ranieri after being voted the best
player in England by his fellow professionals.
"All the credit is for them, seriously," Mahrez, who joined Leicester from French second-tier side Le Havre in January 2014, said.
"And
for my manager and the staff. Without them I wouldn't receive this
award and I wouldn't score. It's the team spirit, and I want to dedicate
it to them.
"It's extra special because if the players vote for me it's because they've seen I've been great this year so I'm happy.
"Without my team mates I wouldn't get this award."
Mahrez
also spoke of his pride at being the first African player to receive
the award won last year by Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard.
"It's an honour to be the first African -- not the best but the first," Mahrez added.
Spurs
midfielder Dele Alli, 20, was named PFA Young Player of the Year, with
his team still chasing the leaders in a bid to win their first league
title since 1961.
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