Sunderland AFC Player of the Year Award Winners from 1981 to 2026
| Year | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 |  | Stan Cummins |
| 1982 | | Nick Pickering |
| 1983 | | Ian Atkins |
| 1984 | | Paul Bracewell |
| 1985 | | Chris Turner |
| 1986 | | Mark Proctor |
| 1987 | | Gary Bennett |
| 1988 | | Eric Gates |
| 1989 | | Marco Gabbiadini |
| 1990 | | Marco Gabbiadini |
| 1991 | | Kevin Ball |
| 1992 |  | John Byrne |
| 1993 | | Don Goodman |
| 1994 | | Gary Bennett |
| 1995 |  | Dariusz Kubicki |
| 1996 | | Richard Ord |
| 1997 |  | Lionel Perez |
| 1998 | | Kevin Phillips |
| 1999 | | Niall Quinn |
| 2000 | | Kevin Phillips |
| 2001 |  | Don Hutchison |
| 2002 | | Jody Craddock |
| 2003 | | Sean Thornton |
| 2004 |  | Julio Arca |
| 2005 |  | George McCartney |
| 2006 | | Dean Whitehead |
| 2007 |  | Nyron Nosworthy |
| 2008 |  | Kenwyne Jones |
| 2009 |  | Danny Collins |
| 2010 | | Darren Bent |
| 2011 | | Phil Bardsley |
| 2012 |  | Stephane Sessegnon |
| 2013 |  | Simon Mignolet |
| 2014 |  | Vito Mannone |
| 2015 |  | Sebastian Larsson |
| 2016 | | Jermain Defoe |
| 2017 | | Jermain Defoe |
| 2018 | | John O’Shea |
| 2019 | | Aiden McGeady |
| 2020 | No Award | |
| 2021 | | Charlie Wyke |
| 2022 | | Ross Stewart |
| 2023 | | Danny Batth |
| 2024 | | Jack Clarke |
| 2025 | | Trai Hume |
| 2026 |  | Granit Xhaka |
About the author: Paul Yarden
Paul Yarden founded MyFootballFacts (MFF) in April 2009, after decades of collecting football data and statistics. A devout football fan, Paul follows the beautiful game around the world. As MFF’s main statistician and chief editor, he creates data reviews, daily football quizzes, and writes numerous articles. Renowned for his ability to spot trends, Paul is often described as a walking…