Herrera ends De Gea dominance to win United Player of the Year

Ander Herrera has been named Manchester United's Player of the Year for 2016-17, ending David de Gea's stranglehold on the award.

Spanish United stars: De Gea to Herrera

United goalkeeper De Gea had claimed the coveted Sir Matt Busy Player of the Year accolade in the three previous seasons but his dominant run was ended by Spanish midfielder Herrera on Thursday.

Herrera, Valencia, Zlatan

Herrera, 27, finished 242 votes ahead of utility Antonio Valencia – who took out the Players' Player of the Year award – while top goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic was third.

"It's very special for me to win this award because when you see the list of winners, you realise how important it is," said Herrera. "And I stopped the record of David!