Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney Win PFA Merit Awards 2026
Sir Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney have been named as the Professional Footballers' Association merit award winners for 2026, recognition for two figures whose impact on the game stretches far beyond the touchline.
The honours, which celebrate those who have made a lasting contribution to football, will be presented at the PFA Awards ceremony in Manchester on Tuesday evening, when the men's and women's players' player of the year prizes will also be revealed.
For Dalglish, the accolade lands on a career already crowded with medals, milestones and moments that shaped British football.
Scotland’s most-capped men’s international, he pulled on the dark blue shirt 102 times and matched Denis Law’s national record of 30 goals. That alone would have secured his place in history. He went much further.
His club story began at Celtic, where trophies arrived with relentless regularity. From Glasgow he moved south in 1977, joining Liverpool for a British record fee and stepping straight into the heart of a dynasty. Over 14 years at Anfield, Dalglish became the embodiment of the club’s golden era.
- Eight First Division titles.
- Three European Cups.
- Five hundred and fifteen appearances in red.
In 1983, he finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or, a measure of his standing in the European game at a time when British players rarely troubled that podium.
Then came the twist that defined him as more than a great player. In 1985, Liverpool appointed him player‑manager. The gamble turned into a masterstroke. Dalglish delivered three league titles and two FA Cups, including the league and FA Cup Double in 1985-86, all while still pulling on his boots until his playing retirement in 1990.
By February 1991, worn down by the strain, he resigned as Liverpool manager. His break from the dugout did not last. At Blackburn Rovers he built one of the Premier League’s great stories, guiding the club to the 1995 title and breaking the established order at the top of English football.
Spells followed at Celtic and Newcastle, before an emotional return to Liverpool. In 2012, he added the League Cup to his collection, another trophy in a cabinet that had long since overflowed.
Dalglish’s influence, though, has never been confined to the pitch or the technical area. On Merseyside, he remains a towering figure not just in sport, but in public life.
In the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, he helped steer Liverpool through its darkest days, attending funerals, supporting bereaved families and standing alongside a community that refused to be silenced. His role during that period still resonates deeply with supporters.
He has also used his profile to drive change away from football. The Marina Dalglish Appeal, founded in 2005 after his wife’s treatment for breast cancer, has raised millions of pounds to support cancer care and treatment. It is a legacy measured not in goals or trophies, but in lives touched and improved.
Now 75, Dalglish revealed in June 2026 that he is undergoing treatment for cancer himself. The PFA’s merit award arrives at a time when the game, and especially Liverpool, has been reminded once again how much he has given it — and how fiercely it continues to stand behind him.
