Five Manchester United players and the captain of Liverpool have been nominated for this season's PFA player of the year award.

Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs, current holder Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard have this afternoon been named by the Professional Football Association as their candidates for this year.

There is also a strong United presence within the young player of the year category with Jonny Evans and Rafael Da Silva put forward from the league and European champions. They are up against Aston Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, Tottenham Hotspur's Aaron Lennon and Manchester City's Stephen Ireland for the award.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony next month.