Richarlison has outlined his ambition to "carry on honouring the blue shirt of Everton" after being presented with the Club's 2019/20 Player of the Season award by Brazil teammate and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar. 

The forward was voted for the prize by Everton supporters after following up his 14 goals in 2018/19 with 15 strikes in all competitions last term. 

There was also an awards double for Mason Holgate in 2019/20, with the defender being named as the Young Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season, while Leighton Baines scooped Goal of the Season for his thunderous strike against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

"I'd like to thank fans for the honour of this wonderful prize that so many legendary names have won in the past - this award really means a lot to me," said Richarlison. “Since I arrived here, it's been an honour to play for this club and long may it continue.

"I hope to keep this up, and to carry on honouring the blue shirt of Everton.

"In Carlo Ancelotti, the Club has got a real winner. We all need to get behind him.

"He's someone who's going to help everyone at the Club. He'll put together a winning team and I have no doubt that there are good times ahead for us."


Neymar, whose 61 goals for Brazil puts him behind only Pele (77) and Ronaldo (62), sent a personal message to Richarlison to inform him of his prize. Holding a statuette of Everton’s greatest ever forward Dixie Dean, Neymar said: “I know you're the first Brazilian to win this award and I'm very happy for you.

"I hope you keep on scoring goals, helping your club, your teammates, and you know I am always wishing you the best. It is a pleasure to present you with this award. Congratulations.”

Everton CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale was honoured with Chairman Bill Kenwright's Blueblood Award for her leadership in steering the Club through the challenging circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, while Duncan Ferguson's stirring stint as caretaker manager prior to the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti saw him collect the prestigious Howard Kendall Award.

Anthony Gordon was chosen as the Under-23 Player of the Season by manager David Unsworth for the outstanding goalscoring form that triggered the forward’s elevation to the First Team, while Willie Kirk and his staff selected Club captain Dan Turner and young midfielder Molly Pike as their Player and Breakthrough Player of the Season respectively.

Youngster Holgate started all but one game following the appointment of Ancelotti in December before an injury sustained against Tottenham Hotspur in July effectively ended his campaign with five games remaining.

He had previously shone playing out of position in midfield as Everton recorded a 1-1 draw at Manchester United under the temporary charge of Ferguson and, such was his form, was being tipped for a first senior England call-up before the coronavirus pandemic halted all professional football in March.

Baines, who confirmed his retirement shortly after Everton's final game of the 2019/20 season against Bournemouth, becomes the most decorated player since the Club's awards were relaunched in 2006.

The left-back, who ended his career having turned out 420 times for the Blues, had previously been named Player of the Season twice (2010/11 and 2012/13), Players' Player of the Season three times (2009/10, 2010/11 and 2012/13) and collected the Howard Kendall Award (2017/18 - shared with Phil Jagielka) and Goal of the Season prizes (2010/11).

His rocket to take December's last-four meeting with Leicester to a penalty shootout Everton eventually lost saw off seven other strikes in a fan poll.

Revered 1980s full-back pairing Pat Van den Hauwe and Gary Stevens are the latest Everton Giants and, as such, join a prestigious Club roll of honour alongside their European Cup Winners' Cup-winning teammates Neville Southall, Kevin Ratcliffe, Graeme Sharp, Peter Reid, Trevor Steven and Adrian Heath.

Another Giant, Ferguson, was emotional to learn of his Howard Kendall Award, a prize that acknowledges an outstanding contribution and is named in honour of the legendary former Blues boss, who coached Ferguson during the 1997/98 season.

During his time in temporary charge last December, Ferguson led Everton to a 3-1 home win over Chelsea and successive Premier League draws against Manchester United and Arsenal.

"The game against Chelsea was one of the greatest Goodison days of my life," said Mr Kenwright. "I felt no fear and you could feel no fear in the ground.

"Me and Farhad [Moshiri, majority shareholder] and every Evertonian salutes Duncan Ferguson and thank him because [he] got us back again, in more ways than one."

Ferguson added: "It's fantastic - I never saw it coming. We all know what a great man Howard was, how special he was, and what he did for the Club. To receive his award, I'm absolutely delighted."

As revealed last month, 11-year-old Lewis Docherty is Everton's Fan of the Year as chosen by the Club's Fans' Forum.

Lewis, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, received a record number of nominations for his work helping Michael 'Speedo Mick' Cullen with fundraising on matchdays and was surprised by Everton Club captain Seamus Coleman during a video interview about his award.

Mr Kenwright named the 'Everton family' - the Club's staff and supporters - as winners of The People's Club Award in recognition of the unity displayed during the national lockdown and through the Club's Blue Family outreach initiative, while a new staff award went to Hannah Moody, who lost a year-long battle with cancer in April at the tragically young age of 31.

The award will be named in honour of Hannah, who had worked in the Club's Fan Centre for more than 14 years and left a husband, Chris, and three-year-old son, Frankie.

Find out more about all our winners by watching our review of 2019/20 here.

Full list of 2019/20 Everton award winners:
 
Player of the Season - Richarlison
Players' Player of the Season - Mason Holgate
Young Player of the Season - Mason Holgate
Goal of the Season - Leighton Baines
Howard Kendall Award - Duncan Ferguson
Chairman's Blueblood Award - Denise Barratt-Baxendale
Under-23 Player of the Season - Anthony Gordon
Everton Women Player of the Season - Dan Turner
Everton Women Breakthrough Player of the Season - Molly Pike
Fan of the Year - Lewis Docherty
Everton Giant - Pat Van den Hauwe and Gary Stevens
People's Club Award - The Everton Family
Moody Blue Award - Hannah Moody