Antonee Robinson has been named US Soccer’s Male Player of the Year after a stellar year for Fulham and the USMNT.
Antonee Robinson has been named the 2024 US Soccer Male Player of the Year, becoming the first defender to win the accolade in nearly two decades.
Robinson, who is enjoying an excellent season for Premier League club Fulham, was announced as the award winner today by former USMNT goalkeeper Tom Howard.
Winning Male Player of the Year “feels unreal”
“I think 2024 for you, both for club and country, has been incredibly impressive,” Howard told the 27-year-old, who won his 50th USMNT cap in November. “I know you’ve had some good seasons before that, but this is the year where I feel like people are starting to use your name and ‘world-class left-back’ in the same sentence.”
“It’s an honor,” Robinson said of the Male Player of the Year award. “Representing my country in general is an honor, it’s not something I do for any individual accolades. It’s always putting the team first, doing everything I can to make sure I’m trying my best for the boys and trying to represent the country well. So, to be rewarded like that for that feels, I can’t really describe it, it feels unreal.”
Robinson is the first defender to win US Soccer Male Player of the Year since Oguchi Onyewu in 2006.
Robinson an assist ace in 2024
The left-back is one of just three defenders who accumulated 10 or more assists in Europe’s five major leagues in 2024, alongside Bayer Leverkusen’s Álex Grimaldo and Girona’s Miguel Gutiérrez.
This season, Robinson has supplied seven assists in 19 appearances for Fulham, all in the Premier League. In the English top flight, only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (13) and Bukayo Saka (10) have set up more goals than the UK-born American.
From a list of nominees that also included Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic and Tim Ream, Robinson accrued 55% of the votes for the Male Player of the Year award. The prize is chosen by both the public and representatives of US Soccer.