Sterling has enjoyed a fine season for Pep Guardiola’s title chasers, with his 17 Premier League goals and 12 assists firing City to within two games of winning successive league championships.
He has also emerged as a key figure in football’s fight against racism, highlighting the bias against black footballers in the wake of being racially abused during a visit to Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge home last December.
The former Liverpool forward, 24, becomes the fourth Manchester City player to win the FWA award, after Don Revie in 1954/55, Bert Trautmann the following season, and Tony Book, who shared the award with Derby’s Dave Mackay in 1968/69.