Riyad Mahrez wins top PFA award - reaction to the Premier League's unlikeliest best player
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Updated 25/04/2016 at 07:29 GMT
Riyad Mahrez embodies the spirit of the Leicester story - the underdog who fought his way to the top despite facing obstacles at almost every stage of his career.
Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez with the PFA Player of the Year Award 2016 presented by Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri and host Manish Bhasi during the PFA Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London
Image credit: PA Sport
The newly-crowned PFA Player of the Year was born and grew up in Sarcelles, a northern suburb of Paris.
His Algerian father and Moroccan mother settled there, and Mahrez would later go on and play for the country of his father's birth - "I lived in France and grew up there, but my heart is more Algerian," he once said.
While contemporaries were scouted and headed off to the academies of top French Ligue 1 clubs, the young Mahrez struggled to make his mark.
At the age of 15 he also had to cope with the loss of his father Ahmed, who died from a heart condition.
As he grew stronger and developed physically, Mahrez became a man on a mission - to make it as a footballer in honour of his father.
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Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez (centre) with the PFA Player of the Year award 2016 presented by Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri (left) and and PFA Chairman Ritchie Humphreys (right) during the PFA Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London
Image credit: PA Sport
He signed a short-term contract with Quimper as an 18-year-old before moving to Le Havre in 2010, where he scored six goals in 60 apperances.
Then he signed for Leicester in January 2014 for a fee of around £400,000, promptly helping them to promotion from the Championship and maintaining their Premier League status in 2015.
He now has 17 goals this season plus 11 assists after Sunday's 4-0 victory over Swansea took Leicester to within five points of the title.
His skills have stunned defenders and impressed the world's biggest clubs - and now he has been recognised by his peers as the best player in the Premier League.
OUR VIEW
Who could really argue that Riyad Mahrez doesn't deserve this award? Jamie Vardy's record-breaking goalscoring was rightly recognised with a separate award, but Mahrez's creativity and influence rightly secured the top prize for him.
And it might not be essential, but how refreshing to hear someone accept a gong like this with such endearing modesty.
Congratulations!
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