David De Gea first to win three straight Man United Player of the Year awards

David De Gea became the first Manchester United player to win the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award for three years in a row when he triumphed again on Monday night.

The goalkeeper collected the prize at the club's annual awards ceremony at Old Trafford, which was broadcast on MUTV. Chris Smalling was named Players' Player of the Year, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson won the Under-21s honour and Marcus Rashford was awarded the Under-18s award. Anthony Martial's debut strike against Liverpool was the goal of the season.

.@D_DeGea, our Player of the Year. Again!#MUFCPOTY #DaveSaves pic.twitter.com/KYbXBZ0bIT

- Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 2, 2016

De Gea's award was decided by a fans' vote, which led to him earning the accolade ahead of other consistently impressive performers such as Martial, Smalling and Daley Blind.

The United goalkeeper said: "It's difficult to say something. To win three years in a row is amazing. I'm really happy. It's an honour and I want to say thank you to everyone. I think we have some of the best fans in the world."

Former players Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo had all won the prize in back-to-back years but De Gea has now gone one better.

United manager Louis van Gaal said: "Everyone knows he was invited to Madrid. His girlfriend is living in Madrid; his parents, Spanish. Real Madrid is a great club, but he is still here and, as a manager, I am so happy he is here and he deserves to win this title."

Speaking about the Spanish goalkeeper, midfielder Juan Mata said: "For me, he is the most consistent player. He is always saving points for us."

Before the ceremony, captain Wayne Rooney had paid tribute to the central defenders' efforts this season, but revealed that he voted for Daley Blind as Player of the Year.

Rooney said: "For me personally, Daley and Chris have been brilliant for us. I went with Chris last year so it's Daley this year."

Former United greats including Sir Bobby Charlton and Denis Law were there to witness the prize-giving.

Meanwhile Van Gaal addressed his situation with the club, saying he believed that being portrayed as a "nobody" could be having an effect on the way his players respond to him.

Van Gaal said: "I'm a coach, a manager, who would rather have some authority but every day the players can read it -- what do you think about my authority as well? What do you think about the way they want to follow my advice? When the coach is shown like a nobody. And I am not what the media is writing, because I am very arrogant, because I am one of the best managers in the world."

When asked how difficult the season has been, he replied: "Very difficult. More difficult for my players than me. First they have to deal with this manager, which is not so easy."

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri only wants players with 'same mentality'

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri says he doesn't want to lose any of his star players, and only wants to sign those with the right mentality after winning the Premier League title.

Tottenham Hotspur's 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Monday night left Leicester with an unassailable seven-point lead at the top of the table with two games to play.

Ranieri can now start planning for next season, when the Foxes can also look forward to a first-ever season in the Champions League -- where they will be one of the top seeds alongside the champions of the other top-seven leagues and the title holders.

It means the coach will have to strengthen his squad to deal with the demands of European football, but he is eager to recruit players with the right temperament.

Asked if the Foxes could repeat their amazing success next season, he told Sky Sports News: "I think no, but we want to continue to build.

"When I came here the objective was to create a solid foundation and build together. This season is out of our project but our foundations are very solid and we want to do our best.

"We don't want to sell anybody. If some player doesn't want to stay with us I don't want unhappy people.

"We are looking to add to the team but with the same mentality. Who comes must know we are working hard."

Looking ahead to Leicester receiving the Premier League trophy at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, Ranieri added: "I feel good now. [Picking up the trophy] in front of our fans it will be fantastic."

Leicester City. Champions of England. pic.twitter.com/WRwfysTn2N

- Leicester City (@LCFC) May 2, 2016
It is also Ranieri's first top-flight triumph in his managerial career and the 64-year-old admits emotions were running high when the full-time whistle blew at Stamford Bridge.

"The emotion was at the maximum level," Ranieri added. "It means the job is good. I am very, very happy now because maybe if I won this title at the beginning of my career maybe I would forget.

"Now I am an old man I can feel it much better.

"I said every time I am very happy for the fans, for the chairman and for all the Leicester community," Ranieri added. "I don't know the secret. The players, the heart, the soul and how they play.

"My message to the fans is now to keep going, we want to improve a lot."

Ranieri had been visiting his 96-year-old mother in Rome on Monday but landed at East Midlands airport in time to return home and watch Tottenham's draw.

Cristiano Ronaldo fit to face Man City; Karim Benzema and Casemiro doubtful

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said Tuesday that Cristiano Ronaldo will start Wednesday's Champions League semifinal second leg against Manchester City, but Casemiro and Karim Benzema are now almost certainly ruled out.

Ronaldo has missed Madrid's past three games with a right thigh-muscle problem, including the goalless first leg at City on April 26.

Benzema, meanwhile, left at half-time of the game at the Etihad Stadium with a similar issue, and Casemiro picked up a thigh problem in Saturday's 1-0 La Liga win at Real Sociedad.

After reports that Ronaldo had suffered a second muscle injury and rumours of a breakdown in the relationship between Madrid's star players and the club's senior medical staff, the 31-year-old Portugal international has undergone an intensive recovery regimen in recent days and again took part in training with his teammates on Tuesday morning.

Zidane said during his prematch news conference that Ronaldo had recovered completely from the injury and there was no risk involved in him playing against City.

"Cristiano is fine -- he is at 100 percent," Zidane said on Tuesday. "He trained with us and will be with us tomorrow. There is no risk. He is training, and he is 100 percent."

Zidane had previously said that Ronaldo was likely to start last week's first leg in Manchester, but he stressed that the situation was different this time around.

"It is not just two days, it is a week, and bit by bit he has been recovering," he said. "He is a player who is like that, who recovers very quickly. He will be at 100 percent tomorrow.

"It is always good to have him on the pitch with us. He is an outstanding player, his statistics show that."

Benzema again continued his recovery indoors without joining his teammates and does not appear likely to be in the squad on Wednesday.

"Karim still had his problem today, and we did not want to risk him," Zidane said.

Casemiro, meanwhile, has become a key player in Zidane's 4-3-3 system, but his unexpected hip problem could rule him out of the club's biggest game of the season so far.

Zidane did not confirm the holding midfielder's absence but suggested he was likely to sit the match out.

"With Casemiro, it is not a [serious] injury, but it is swollen and we did not want to risk it," he said. "We have a big enough squad for others to play. We will try, Casemiro is Casemiro, but other players can do the same work as he does. Whoever plays in that position will do the same work as Casemiro."

He added: "I would have liked to have Casemiro and Benzema, but it is not like that. Others will play and they will do well."

Zidane rejected the idea that the injuries meant that he might consider changing his system or approach for this game.

"I will not change tomorrow," he said. "The idea is always the same, and even more so playing at home. We will need to show the intensity that a Champions League semifinal requires.

"When we do not have the ball, we will have to defend well, all together as a team, as we have been recently. Not just the midfield, or the defenders, but everyone must do this work."