The PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year (often called the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in Scottish football. The award has been presented since the 1977–78 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland (PFA Scotland). The award was formerly known as the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year, but was renamed after the SPFA became affiliated with the (English) Professional Footballers' Association and rebranded PFA Scotland.

The first winner of the award was Rangers striker Derek Johnstone, and the first non-Scottish winner was Aberdeen goalkeeper Theo Snelders eleven years later. Although there is a separate PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award, young players remain eligible to win the senior award, and in the 2005–06 season Shaun Maloney became the first player to win both awards in the same season, a feat repeated by Aiden McGeady two years later.

A shortlist of nominees is published in April and the winner of the award, along with the winners of PFA Scotland's other annual awards, is announced at a gala event in Glasgow a few days later. The award is regarded by the players themselves as extremely prestigious, with John Hartson commenting in 2005 that "the award means a lot because it's voted by your fellow professionals" and Shaun Maloney stating in 2006 that "there is no better accolade than to be voted for by your peers and it does mean a lot to me". In 2007 the SPFA was replaced by a new body, PFA Scotland, but the new organisation's awards are considered to be a direct continuation of the SPFA awards.

Winners The award has been presented on 48 occasions as of 2026, with two players sharing the award on one occasion (2004–05). There have been 46 different winners, with Scott Brown and Henrik Larsson being the only players to have won the award more than once. The table also indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in Scottish football, namely the Scottish Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award (SFWA), and the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award (SYPY).

SeasonNatPlayerClubNotesRef 1977–78 Rangers Also won the SFWA award. First player to win SPFA and SFWA awards in the same season. 1978–79 Dundee United 1979–80 Celtic 1980–81 Aberdeen 1981–82 Airdrieonians 1982–83 Celtic Also won the SFWA award. 1983–84 Aberdeen Also won the SFWA award 1984–85 Morton 1985–86 Dundee United 1986–87 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 1987–88 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 1988–89 Aberdeen First winner of the award from outside Scotland and Britain 1989–90 Aberdeen 1990–91 Celtic 1991–92 Rangers Also won the SFWA award 1992–93 Rangers Also won the SFWA award 1993–94 Rangers Also won the SFWA award 1994–95 Rangers Also won the SFWA award 1995–96 Rangers Also won the SFWA award 1996–97 Celtic 1997–98 Celtic 1998–99 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 1999–00 Celtic First winner of the award from outside Europe 2000–01 Celtic First two-time winner of the award. Also won the SFWA award. 2001–02 Rangers 2002–03 Rangers Also won the SFWA award 2003–04 Celtic 2004–05 (joint winner) Rangers (joint winner) Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2005–06 Celtic Also won the SYPY award. First player to win both PFA Scotland awards in the same season. 2006–07 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2007–08 Celtic Also won the SYPY award 2008–09 Celtic 2009–10 Rangers 2010–11 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2011–12 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2012–13 Motherwell 2013–14 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2014–15 Celtic 2015–16 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2016–17 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2017–18 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2018–19 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2019–20 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PFA Scotland cancelled their awards for the 2019–20 season. 2020–21 Rangers 2021–22 Celtic 2022–23 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2023–24 Heart of Midlothian Also won the SFWA award 2024–25 Celtic Also won the SFWA award 2025–26 Heart of Midlothian Also won the SFWA award

Breakdown of winners

Winners by country CountryNumber of winsWinning seasons Scotland 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2023–24 England 1990–91, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2020–21 Japan 2006–07, 2022–23, 2024–25 Italy 1996–97, 2001–02 Netherlands 1988–89, 2004–05 (shared) Sweden 1998–99, 2000–01 Australia 1999–00 Denmark 1994–95 Honduras 2010–11 Northern Ireland 2009–10 Norway 2014–15 Portugal 2025–26 Republic of Ireland 2007–08 Wales 2004–05 (shared)

Winners by club ClubNumber of winsWinning seasons Celtic 1979–80, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05 (shared), 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25 Rangers 1977–78, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05 (shared), 2009–10, 2020–21 Aberdeen 1980–81, 1983–84, 1988–89, 1989–90 Dundee United 1978–79, 1985–86 Heart of Midlothian 2023–24, 2025–26 Airdrieonians 1981–82 Greenock Morton 1984–85 Motherwell 2012–13

See also PFA Scotland Team of the Year PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year SFWA Footballer of the Year PFA Players' Player of the Year FWA Footballer of the Year PFAI Players' Player of the Year Rex Kingsley Footballer of the Year

References