Kevin De Bruyne missed out on the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, with Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah claiming the prize.

Salah won the award after a goal-laden, record-breaking first season at Liverpool.

The Egyptian forward has scored 31 goals in 33 Premier League appearances since signing from Roma for an initial £36.9million (€42m) last June, equalling the record for the most prolific campaign in the division’s 20-team history.

Salah has three fixtures remaining – against Stoke City, former side Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion – to surpass the mark hit by Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo and ex-Liverpool striker Luis Suarez.

The 25-year-old pipped De Bruyne to the prize, after the playmaker was a key influence in Manchester City’s dominant Premier League campaign. Tottenham striker Harry Kane came in third.

‘It’s an honour to be Player of the Year for the Premier League, especially because it’s voted for by the players,’ said Salah, who received a message of congratulations from manager Jurgen Klopp.

‘I still have some goals to score to break the record and I’m very excited about that. I’m very excited and we will see in the next three games.’

De Bruyne confirmed he voted for Salah, scorer of 41 goals in all competitions for Liverpool, and the Egyptian will next be in action when he faces former club Roma in the semi-finals of the Champions League at Anfield on Tuesday.

This month Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win three Player of the Month awards in a season.

De Bruyne will not end the campaign empty-handed, though, as he is set to collect the newly created Premier League Playmaker award, which goes to the individual with the most assists over the term.

Photo: Barrington Coombs/Backpagepix

-This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za