Chelsea announce player of the season in classy move

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Evening Standard

·19 mai 2026

Chelsea announce player of the season in classy move

Joao Pedro has picked up the huge honour mere hours after being left out of Brazil’s World Cup squad

Chelsea have named Joao Pedro as their player of the season, hours after the striker was surprising left out of Brazil’s World Cup squad.

Vidéos OneFootball

The Blues have confirmed that the striker, aigned from Brighton in a deal worth £60million last summer, received more than 60 per cent of votes from the online poll to select the winner, ahead of Enzo Fernandez in second and Moises Caicedo in third.

With one game of the season left to play, the striker boasts 15 goals and five assists in the Premier League.

Joao Pedro is the sixth player in Chelsea history – after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Cole Palmer – to register 20 Premier League goal involvements in his first season. That goal involvement tally climbs to 25 across all competitions.

Confirmation of the huge award will go someway to soften the blow of the shock news on Monday night that the striker was left out of Carlo Ancelotti’s Selecao squad for the World Cup.

Neymar, looking for his first cap in almost three injury-ravaged years, was seemingly picked ahead of Joao Pedro, who also saw Chelsea team-mate Andrey Santos overlooked.

"Some of the players who were with us this year won't be happy with this list. I'm sorry, and I want ‌to thank everyone who was with us," Ancelotti ⁠told reporters on Monday evening.

Issuing a public response to the decision, Joao Pedro said: “I tried to give my best at all times. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to fulfill this dream of representing my country in a World Cup, but I remain calm and focused, as I always try to be.

“Joys and frustrations are part of football. From now on, I wish good luck to everyone who is there and I will be just another fan cheering for them to bring the sixth title home.”