The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the league's sponsors consisting of members of "football's governing bodies, the media and fans", and is announced in the second or third week of May.
[6] That same season, Carling introduced individual awards for players, such as the Golden Boot.
[9][10] Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidić and Kevin De Bruyne have been Player of the Season on two occasions each and are the only players to have won the award more than once, with Ronaldo having achieved this in consecutive years (2007 and 2008).
[11][12] Four of these players – Kevin Phillips,[13] Henry,[14] Ronaldo and Luis Suárez – went on to win the European Golden Shoe in the same season.
[15][16] Eleven players have won the Premier League trophy with their respective clubs in the same year they received the award, with Ronaldo and Vidić each accomplishing the feat on two occasions with Manchester United.