Ricardo Bags Awards Double At End Of Season Dinner
- Ricardo Pereira named Leicester City’s Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season
- James Maddison won the Young Player of the Season accolade
- Christian Fuchs’ strike against Fleetwood Town earned him the Goal of the Season award
- The evening was held in aid of The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Foundation
After joining on a five-year deal from FC Porto last summer, the enterprising full-back, who can also operate on the wing, has been one of the Foxes’ most impressive performers during the 2018/19 campaign.
That was reflected during an evening of glamour at King Power Stadium, as he was named Player of the Season – voted for by the Blue Army – and Players’ Player of the Season.
Speaking to LCFC TV, he said: "It’s always good to get rewarded for your performance over the year and this is my first year, so it’s even better. I want to thank all the players, staff and supporters too.
"Coming to one of the most difficult championships in Europe or even in the world, you never know what to expect. There’s a lot of players that come here and have some difficulty in the beginning, I know I was prepared for that too, but it’s been better than I expected!"
Held in aid of The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Foundation, the night began with Vice-Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha addressing the room before all those in attendance remembered the Club’s late Chairman, Khun Vichai.
The first prize of the evening saw Geoff and Gill Smart receive The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Outstanding Community Award for their incredible efforts in raising over £4M for charity.
They formed the Heart Link Children’s Charity in 1981, with money raised being spent on bringing modern and essential life support equipment to the hospitals of Leicestershire – and keeping hundreds of families together.
Alongside Ricardo’s double of awards, fellow first-team star James Maddison was also rewarded for a fine debut season in England’s top flight, as he was named Young Player of the Season following a decisive fan vote.
Maddison, 22, has scored seven goals and set up a further seven strikes in the league this term, netting three fine free-kicks and scoring a superb solo goal against Watford at King Power Stadium in December.
Former Austria skipper Christian Fuchs’ excellent volley against Fleetwood Town, meanwhile, earned the Goal of the Season award.
The left-back’s strike in the Carabao Cup opened the scoring at King Power Stadium in August, before Vicente Iborra, Kelechi Iheanacho and Rachid Ghezzal added to the opener.
The 2018/19 Performance of the Season accolade, collected by skipper Wes Morgan, was awarded to the brilliant 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Boxing Day.
Goals from Marc Albrighton and Ricardo saw City defeat the current Premier League champions just four days after beating Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The Club’s Development Squad Player of the Season prize went to midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who scored three times in 2018/19, and made 34 appearances in all competitions.
Finally, Oliver Bosworth was named Academy Player of the Season, with the Under-18s goalkeeper helping his side to a magnificent 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the U18 Premier League campaign.
The Leicester City 2018/19 End of Season Awards winners in full:
Player of the Season – Ricardo Pereira
Players’ Player of the Season – Ricardo Pereira
Young Player of the Season – James Maddison
Performance of the Season – 2-1 win vs. Manchester City, Wednesday 26 December, 2018
Goal of the Season – Christian Fuchs vs. Fleetwood Town, Tuesday 28 August, 2018
Development Squad Player of the Season – Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Academy Player of the Season – Oliver Bosworth
The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Outstanding Community Award – Geoff and Gill Smart