Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard capped a magnificent return to form by being named Player of the Year at the club's end-of-season awards ceremony in London on Sunday night.
The
Belgian, who also scooped the Goal of the
Season gong for his solo
strike against Arsenal, vowed to remain at the club when picking up his
prize at Battersea Evolution, with N'Golo Kante winning the Players'
Player of the Year accolade.
Manager
Antonio Conte presented the top award, which was voted for by the fans
after being whittled down to a shortlist, with Cesar Azpilicueta, David
Luiz and Kante also nominated for the main prize.
The night ended with a tribute to the
departing captain John Terry who collected a Special Recognition award
and made an emotional appearance on stage in which he admitted he could
call time on his career.
He said:
'Chelsea's my life and it has been for 22 years and it'll never go away.
The fans mean everything to me, the memories will live with me forever.
I couldn't be here without you and I thank you from my heart.
'I hope to be back here in the future. The
club have made it clear that the door is always open. I'm going to go
away for a week and will decide my future, whether that's playing or
finishing.'
'I'm finding it hard to
even consider playing for another club at the moment, but that was the
desire for why I'm leaving so we'll see what happens, and see what the
future brings.'
The Premier League champions last week
cancelled plans to stage a victory parade on Sunday having deemed it
'inappropriate' following the terror attack in Manchester, but the club
pressed ahead with the annual awards gala in west London.
The
Blues are still licking their wounds after suffering defeat in the FA
Cup final by Arsenal, but that did not prevent the squad from enjoying
their end-of-season awards ceremony on Sunday.
London's
wet Bank Holiday weather may have captured the mood among the first
team squad following Saturday's defeat, but the night focused on the
positives at Stamford Bridge.
The
first prize of the night was awarded to Hazard, with his brilliant
individual effort against Arsenal on February 4 winning the Goal of the
Season.
The Belgian was in jovial mood
on stage as he was also nominated for his goal against West Ham at the
London Stadium, saying: 'Just to make sure, which one is the best? I
scored two!
Nemanja my friend, unlucky!' he added, after Matic missed out for his strike against Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final.
Former
players were also in attendance, with Michael Ballack announcing Hazard
as the winner, among an audience that included the Class of '97 - 20
years on from their FA Cup success against Middlesbrough.
It
was not long before the current players were coming out to loud
applause inside the venue, as captain Terry and Gary Cahill carried in
the Premier League trophy, with the first-team squad following them to
their seats.
Frank Lampard led the
tributes to Terry in a video reel of tributes from former players,
saying: 'He leaves the legacy of being the most successful captain in
our history, and the most successful captain in Premier League history
taking over Roy Keane.
'What he's done
off the pitch, involving himself with the fans and with the academy…
those are legacies that match his performances on the pitch.'
(Daily Mail Sports)
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