Manchester United cancel end of season awards ceremony after request from embarrassed players

Manchester United have scrapped the club's annual Player of the Year ceremony in the wake of their worst-ever Premier League season.

Manchester United have held the glitzy end-of-season event for more than a decade, to honour and pay tribute to the club's outstanding players at first-team and youth level. The gala dinner, which is always held at Old Trafford, is usually scheduled for the final fortnight of the season, but has not gone ahead this year.

It is understood United's players were too embarrassed to hold the black-tie event, broadcast by the MUTV, the club's in-house TV station, following such a dismal campaign. Players are said to have felt awkward about staging the do, which is why club bosses decided not to go ahead with it, despite a two-year hiatus due to Covid.

Manchester United's lamentable Premier League campaign saw them miss out on a top-four finish and Champions League qualification for next season. While bitter rivals Manchester City and Liverpool have battled it out for the title, sixth-placed United will post their lowest points total of the Premier League era when the season ends on Sunday.

The season of turmoil saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked in November and replaced by Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis, although his spell has proved just as disastrous.

All that has been played out against a backdrop of seething animosity from furious United fans, who have held several protests against the club's American owners the Glazers.

The event is normally one of the biggest on the United calendar and is attended by a host of the club's biggest names, including legendary former boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Bruno Fernandes has been named the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year for the past two years, while Luke Shaw was named United Players' Player of the Year last season.

Manchester United have still run a poll with fans for them to vote for their Player of the Year and are working on a plan of how to present the award to the subsequent winner.

The Red Devils finish the season on Sunday with a trip to Crystal Palace, needing a win to secure sixth spot and a Europa League place, to avoid dropping into the Europa Conference League.

New boss Erik ten Hag will be at Selhurst Park to watch United, before officially starting his United tenure on Monday.