Dias was pivotal to Man City’s third Premier League title in four years as he made an immediate impact following his move from Benfica in September 2020.
The 24-year-old fitted seamlessly into Pep Guardiola’s side and emerged as a leader at the back as City went on a 15-match winning streak, the fourth-longest such run in Premier League history.
Dias contributed to 15 clean sheets, winning 23 of his 32 matches played and making 35 interceptions, 24 tackles, 23 blocks and 135 recoveries. He becomes second Portuguese to win award after stunning debut campaign for Man City.
He also helped City win the EFL Cup and reach the UEFA Champions League final.
Emulating Kompany
Dias is only the fourth defender in history to be named Player of the Season, emulating Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic, former City captain Vincent Kompany and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
He is also only the second Portuguese player to win the award, after Cristiano Ronaldo for Man Utd in 2006/07 and 2007/08.
The public vote was combined with those of the 20 club captains and a panel of football experts to determine Dias as the winner
Player of the season 2020/21
This award makes it two for Dias as he already won the Football writers (FWA) award. He beat his City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne – who won the Premier League Player of the Season award last season – and Tottenham striker Harry Kane to the honour alongside Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.
West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek and Chelsea’s Mason Mount were also nominated.
There are plenty of events taking place over the summer for Premier League fans to mark in their diaries.
4 June – Retained and released lists Premier League clubs from the 2020/21 season submit the lists of players they will be keeping in their squads, and the ones they will be releasing.
6 June – EURO 2021 U21s final The final between Germany and Portugal will be held at the 16,000-capacity Stadion Stozice in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
9 June – Transfer window opens The window officially opens from midnight but some clubs have already announced signings. 10 June – Premier League AGM The Annual General Meeting marks the official changeover from the 2020/21 season to the 2021/22 campaign, with the promoted clubs Norwich City, Watford and Brentford confirmed as PL shareholders.
11 June – UEFA EURO 2020 starts Italy take on Turkey in Rome as the tournament begins a year later than planned. More than 100 players from the 2021/22 Premier League clubs have been selected by the 24 nations.
13 June – Copa America starts Brazil will host the month-long tournament with many Premier League players set to feature.
16 June – 2021/22 Premier League fixtures released All 380 fixtures will be revealed from 09:00 BST on premierleague.com and the Premier League app.
10 July – Copa America final The match is due to be played at Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, at 00:30 BST.
10 July – CONCACAF Gold Cup starts The tournament for nations in North and Central America and the Caribbean will be played in 11 cities across eight different US metropolitan areas.
11 July – EURO 2020 final Wembley Stadium will host the match that kicks off at 20:00 BST. How many Premier League players will be in action?
13 July – PL friendlies start Arsenal and West Ham United are set to be the first PL teams to get their preparations for 2021/22 under way. A full list of pre-season fixtures is here.
1 August – CONCACAF Gold Cup final The Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will host the final.
11 August – UEFA Super Cup The showpiece match between UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea and UEFA Europa League victors Villarreal will take place at Windsor Park in Belfast.
14 August – 2021/22 Premier League starts Promoted Brentford will become the 50th club to play in the PL.
31 August – Transfer window closes Clubs have until 23:00 BST to make their signings for the summer transfer window.
The 37-year-old said “my blood isn’t red, it’s blue and yellow”, referencing the club’s traditional colours. He has announced that he will be leaving his boyhood club Boca Juniors where he started his football career.
“My career in Argentina is finished,” he said. “I always said the only club I would ever play for [here] is Boca, without a doubt. Carlos Tevez lost his father Segundo Tevez in February after he contracted Covid-19 at the age of 58, and he said “I didn’t even have time to mourn my father and already I was playing again. “That’s what Boca demands.” he said as he broke down in tears.
How ever, it has not yet been confirmed if the veteran forward would be retiring from football or would prefer a new challenge. Tevez, who has also played for Corinthians, West Ham, both Manchester clubs, Juventus and Shanghai Shenhua, added: “Boca asks you to give the maximum and mentally I’m not in a condition to do so.
Andrea Pirlo and ex-Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri are both contenders for the Everton job, with the former supposedly in talks with owner Farhad Moshiri. (Calciomercato via Liverpool Echo)
Aston Villa and England midfielder Jack Grealish, 25, could stay at the club this summer, with both Manchester City and Manchester United unwilling to match Villa’s £130m valuation. (Talksport)
Manchester City and Brazil midfielder Fernandinho, 36, and Newcastle and England striker Andy Carroll, 32, have both been included on their club’s released list which was published by the Premier League. However, clubs have until 23 June to send their final list. (Premier League)
Manchester City are, however, closing in on the signing of 18-year-old Fluminense midfielder Metinho, who is known as the ‘Brazilian Paul Pogba’. (Goal)
Chelsea have not ruled out selling Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech this summer with Serie A sides AC Milan and Napoli both interested if the 28-year-old became available. (Calciomercato – in Italian)
AC Milan have told Chelsea they intend to trigger the £28.5m clause to buy England centre-back Fikayo Tomori, 23, on a permanent basis. (Fabrizio Romano)
Everton’s players were in “complete shock” when they found out Carlo Ancelotti was returning to Real Madrid, with Brazil forward Richarlison, 24, and Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez, 29, both now considering their future at the club. (The Athletic – subscription required)
Arsenal are set to focus on the signing of Norwich’s Argentine midfielder Emi Buendia, 24, now that a permanent move for Real Madrid and Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard, 22, looks unlikely. (Times – subscription required)
The Gunners will exercise an extension clause in French midfielder’s Matteo Guendouzi, 22, contract if Marseille don’t increase their £8.6m bid. (Le10 Sport)
Mikel Arteta’s side are interested in Lyon’s French striker Moussa Dembele, 24, with the futures of French forward Alexandre Lacazette, 30, and English centre-forward Eddie Nketiah, 22, uncertain. (Telegraph)
Bayern Munich are set to sign Atletico Madrid and Spain midfielder Saul Niguez, 26, for 80m Euros (£68.7m) with former Leeds target Rodrigo De Paul, who plays for Udinese and Argentina, going to the La Liga champions as his 40m Euro replacement. (Radio Marca)
Everton and West Ham United are interested in Lazio and Argentina forward Joaquin Correa, 26, with the Italian side willing to negotiate for around £30m to help fund new signings. (Italy24News)
Former England full-back Danny Mills believes Tottenham Hotspur should sell England midfielder Dele Alli, 25, this summer, with any potential deal allowing them to sign two players. (Football Insider)
Liverpool are looking to sell Serbia midfielder Marko Grujic this summer, with Hertha Berlin, where the 25-year-old spent two years on loan between 2018 and 2020, interested now his asking price has dropped to 14m Euros. (Berliner Kurier – in German)
Bayern Munich’s contract talks with French winger Kingsley Coman have stalled with the 24-year-old wanting 20m Euros per year, leading to him instructing his agent to see if any Premier League clubs are interested. (Sport 1 – in German)
Barcelona and Bosnia midfielder Miralem Pjanic, 31, could rejoin Juventus this summer after conversations with Massimiliano Allegri, who is set to take over after Andrea Pirlo was sacked. (Calciomercato – in Italian)
Barca are set to complete the signing of Lyon and Netherlands forward Memphis Depay, 27, on a three-year contract. (Sport)
Roma boss Jose Mourinho is set to frustrate Premier League clubs by keeping 19-year-old Gambia midfielder Ebrima Darboe at the club. (Il Tempo via Tuttomercato Web – in Italian)
Luis Campos, former sports advisor at Monaco and Lille, has turned down Nice amid talks with Arsenal and Real Madrid. (RMC Sport – in French)
Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea players have “delayed training” at the Copa America, with Brazil considering whether to quit the tournament that is due to start on 13 June. (Mirror)
Shortly after Zinchenko had faced Hector Bellerin and Serge Gnabry when Shakhtar Donetsk played Arsenal in the Uefa Youth League in February 2014, his mother decided the family should leave for Russia to escape the military conflict that broke out in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
The move forced the then-17-year-old to terminate his contract with Donetsk after six years at the club, leaving his fledgling career shrouded in uncertainty.
The 24-year-old left-back having initially been signed as a midfielder – has won the Premier League three times, an FA Cup, four League Cups and was named Ukrainian footballer of the year in 2019.
At 17 he was trained by Yuri Gavrilov, a top Soviet midfielder at Spartak Moscow in the 1980s. Even the richest Russian clubs refused to consider him: “Directors at Zenit and Spartak Moscow told his trainer that they have a lot of youngsters like him already. “He was just a thin guy, who behaved rather shyly,” said Sergey Telkov, who played with Zinchenko at Russian non-league side Meteor. Ufa press officer Sergey Tyrtyshnyi told BBC Sport: “I had never heard of him, so I Googled him, and the first result said: ‘The golden feet of Ukraine’. That was definitely a good sign.
He had no salary for months but didn’t give up on chasing his dreams of playing professional football. Then the unexpected option of Russian Premier League club Ufa emerged. Zinchenko agreed to play for a very low salary, and the club bought a small flat where he lived with his mother In Russia.
Zinchenko’s first coach at Ufa, Igor Kolyvanov, rarely played him, but the Ukrainian became a regular starter under Yevgeny Perevertaylo, who joined in October 2015. I immediately knew that he must play because of his brilliant qualities. The only thing that needed to be changed was his tendency for non-effective dribbles and passes,” said Perevertaylo.
Receiving words from manager Pep
Zinchenko was a playmaker but his defensive qualities were good too, and thus I used him at left-back for a while, when we needed attack-minded full-backs.”
The young hopeful was soon making enough of an impression to be considered for senior international duty.
Tyrtyshnyi added: “When Zinchenko started playing regularly, the Ukrainian FA – who didn’t really rate him previously – suddenly feared he could switch to Russia.
The Ukrainians called him for the game against Spain in October 2015 and used him for three minutes, just to make the switch impossible. Zinchenko is a smart guy. He knew why they were doing it. He could have refused but went there willingly, because he wanted to represent his homeland.”
Zinchenko played 33 games for Ufa before signing for Manchester City in 2016 in a £1.8m deal, aged 19. He was immediately sent out on loan to PSV Eindhoven for a season.
He returned on loan from PSV and slowly established himself as an important member of Pep Guardiola’s squad – despite being linked with moves away on numerous occasions – and now he is the pride of Ukraine and its most recognisable footballer.
As Valery Rudakov, a Shakhtar legend who coached Zinchenko at under-17 level, put it: “I am glad that he managed to fulfil the potential that we saw at our academy.” And this summer Zinchenko, who could face Northern Ireland in a friendly on Thursday, will lead his country at Euro 2020. Not bad for a player whose career looked like it was over before it had really begun.
Thaigo Silva lefts the Champions LeagueThaigo Silva and family
After a move from Paris St-Germain last season, Thaigo Silva has extended his Chelsea contract with an additional one year. Thiago Silva featured 34 times in all competitions and scored twice in his first campaign for chelsea.
The 36yrs old has been a composed and classy influence in the heart of the Chelsea defence from the moment he arrived on a free transfer. While injury cut short the Brazilian’s time on the pitch in Porto in the Champions League final, he was still able to celebrate his maiden triumph in the competition.
Thiago Silva’s new deal will run until the end of the 2021/22 season. Thiago Silva’s experience will be vital on both fronts
Meanwhile star forward GIROUD has extended his contract by one year. 34-year-old’s three-and-a-half-year stay in west London continues for another year. His contract was due to expire at the end of this season.
Since his move across the capital from Arsenal, Giroud has helped the Blues secure three major honours, as well as claiming World Cup glory with France in 2018. He has 32 goals to his name for the club, including half-a-dozen this season in the Champions League, making him the top scorer for the European champions in that competition.
He has continued to score significant goals, and we will never forget his effort against Atletico Madrid on the way to winning the Champions League this season.
Giroud lefts the Champions LeagueGiroud extends Chelsea contract
“There is far more to come and we are looking forward to our next steps with ambition and much anticipation.” Thomas Tuchel said after he added two years to his Chelsea contract.
He has been in the spotlight of Europe since he arrived in January at Chelsea taking the club to a top four finish and winning the Champions League with a team many saw nothing from them after Chelsea let go of frank lampard.
The 47-year-old was sacked by Paris-Saint Germain on Christmas Eve. On the extension of his contract, Tuchel told the club’s official website: “I cannot imagine a better occasion for a contract renewal. I am grateful for the experience and very happy to stay part of the Chelsea family.
Tuchel on contract renewal
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: “When Thomas joined us in January there was still so much to play for domestically and in Europe. He slotted in seamlessly and immediately became an integral part of the Chelsea family.
Tuchel has won 19 of his 30 games in charge so far, losing five times and conceding just 16 goals. Last weekend, he became the first manager to reach back-to-back Champions League finals with two different clubs.
Cameroonian sensational forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, has just extended his Bayern’s contract until 2023 after he arrived the club in 2020 from Paris St-Germain for free. The 32yrs old has played 29 matches scoring 9 goals in all competitions for Bayern in his first spell.
He won the Bundesliga and the club World Cup in his first season at Bayern. He has proven to be a vital part of the team as he helped to guide the team to success and is seeking to continue in that light as he extends for another 2yrs.
Choupo-Moting: “I’m proud to be here. FC Bayern is a very special club, number one in Germany and one of the absolute top clubs worldwide. My first year here was great – on and off the pitch, we had a lot of fun together”
Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Zaha, 28, has told Crystal Palace that he wants to leave, ideally before pre-season training starts. (Times)
New Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is keen on raiding former club Everton for Brazil forward Richarlison, 24. (Football Insider)
Everton are ready to offer former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, 47, a three-year contract. (Nicolo Schira via Star)
Arsenal and Aston Villa have made official bids for Norwich’s £40m-rated Argentine winger Emi Buendia, 24. (Sun)
Barcelona are reportedly ready to sell Spanish midfielder Ilaix Moriba, 18, amid interest from Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea. (Mail)
Liverpool lead the race to sign Raphinha from Leeds but Manchester United and Manchester City are also interested in the Brazilian winger, 24. (Gianluigi Longari via Express)
Olivier Giroud, 34, is set to choose AC Milan when the France striker’s contract with Chelsea expires. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian)
Sead Kolasinac, 27, is still set to be sold by Arsenal after Schalke said they could not make the Bosnia left-back’s loan move permanent this summer. (Football London)
Atletico Madrid are open to offers for Spanish midfielder Saul Niguez, 26, who has previously been linked with Manchester United. (Marca – in Spanish)
Fiorentina are interested in signing French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, 26, on loan from Chelsea this summer. (Fabrizio Romano, Twitter)
Returning coach Massimiliano Allegri met with Juventus staff on Thursday, with the future of Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, 36, top of the list of topics. (Goal)
Tottenham are still in talks with South Korea forward Heung-min Son, 28, over a new contract and are confident of an agreement once their new manager is appointed. (Fabrizio Romano, Twitter)
Douglas Luiz is expected to stay with Aston Villa as Manchester City are unlikely to trigger a buy-back clause for the Brazil midfielder, 23. (Express & Star)
Atletico Madrid’s Argentine coach Diego Simeone, 51, is close to agreeing a two-year contract extension to 2024. (Cadena Cope via Mundo Deportivo)
French champions Lille are interested in naming Patrick Vieira, 44, as successor to former boss Christophe Galtier. (L’Equipe – in French)
Former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner plans to continue his coaching education after announcing his retirement at 33, 17 months after the Dane played his last game for FC Copenhagen. (Ekstra Bladet – in Danish)
Anthony Burke; 42-year-old is found guilty of making racist gesture towards Manchester United players at Tameside Magistrates’ Court. Incident occurred at Etihad Stadium during City’s 2-1 defeat to United on December 7, 2019. in December 2019. He was also given a three-year football banning order, preventing him from attending any matches in the UK.
The order also stops him from going within a mile of any ground at which City are playing for four hours before and after the game.
In addition, Mr Burke must not enter any city in which England are playing for eight hours before and after kick-off.
He was given a £500 fine, and was ordered to pay a £50 victim surcharge and £300 costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.Following Mr Burke’s guilty verdict, City confirmed they would proceed with the lifetime ban.
With fans hopefully continuing to return to stadiums in the coming weeks and months, this conviction stands to remind anyone who thinks of engaging in such intolerable abuse that we will work robustly to prosecute perpetrators of hate crime and bring them to some justice.
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