Sir Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney have been named the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Merit Award winners for 2026.
The award honours individuals who have made a lasting contribution to football.
The PFA Awards ceremony will be held in Manchester on Tuesday evening, where the men’s and women’s players’ player of the year winners will be announced.
Dalglish enjoyed a prolific career as both player and manager, becoming Scotland’s most-capped men’s international with 102 appearances and matching Denis Law’s national team record of 30 goals.
At club level, he began with a trophy-laden spell at Celtic before moving to Liverpool for a British record fee in 1977 and becoming an integral part of the club’s golden era.
Over the next 14 years, Dalglish won eight First Division titles and three European Cups across 515 appearances for Liverpool and was runner-up for the Ballon d’Or in 1983. Appointed player-manager in 1985, he guided the club to three league titles and two FA Cups – including the double in 1985-86 – before retiring from playing in 1990.
After resigning as Liverpool’s manager in February 1991, Dalglish led Blackburn to the Premier League title in 1995 and had stints with Celtic, Newcastle and Liverpool again, where he won the 2012 League Cup.
Off the field, Dalglish remains a significant figure in Merseyside. He led the club through the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, earning praise for his support of the bereaved families, and has raised millions of pounds to support cancer care and treatment through the Marina Dalglish Appeal, set up in 2005 following his wife’s treatment for breast cancer.
Dalglish, 75, announced in June 2026 that he is undergoing treatment for cancer.
Former England attacking midfielder Carney was a member of the Arsenal side that completed a historic quadruple in 2006-07, winning the league, FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Women’s Cup, the forerunner to the Women’s Champions League.
She spent two seasons with Chicago Red Stars before returning in 2011 to home club Birmingham City, where she had started her career. Carney scored an extra-time equaliser as Birmingham won the FA Cup the following season.
Moving to Chelsea in late 2015, Carney won the WSL and FA Cup double in 2017-18 and later served as club captain before ending her playing career in 2019.
On the international stage, Carney made her England debut as a 17-year-old in 2005. She went on to score 32 goals in 144 appearances for the Lionesses and helped England finish third at the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
That was one of eight major tournaments for Carney with England, while she also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics.
Since retiring, Carney, 39, has built a career as a broadcaster and analyst and was appointed by the UK Government to chair an independent review, published in 2023, into the future of domestic women’s football.
