Ex-Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles won the PFA Fans' Player of the Year in 2011

Raul Meireles' two years in England were quite memorable.
The Portuguese midfielder moved to Liverpool from Porto in the summer of 2010 for a fee of around £11.5m.
Meireles arrived with a decent reputation, especially as he had been part of the Portuguese national team since 2006.
So it wasn't much of a surprise to see Meireles adjust quickly to the combative nature of the Premier League in 2010/11.
But, do you remember the gritty midfielder being one of the stars of that season? Nope, neither do we.
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Meireles scored five times and notched the same number of assists in 33 outings for the Reds, but it's hard to remember the now 36-year-old turning in a plethora of memorable performance.
However, he must have done, because he was actually awarded the PFA Fans' Player of the Year in 2011.
What makes the award even more bizarre is that his five goals actually came in a run of seven matches, so essentially it was just a purple patch.
Nevertheless, the fans believed he earned the accolade over that season's top goal scorer and title winner with Manchester United, Dimitar Berbatov.

That's right, the Bulgarian's 20 goals that sealed yet another Premier League crown for Sir Alex Ferguson weren't enough to pip Meireles to the award.
So you may ask, is the PFA Fans' Player of the Year crown often awarded to a rather unexpected recipient? On the contrary.
In every year bar 2011, the winner of the award - which was started in 2001 - is pretty much exactly who you would expect it to be.
PFA FANS' PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS

2001 - Steven Gerrard
2002 - Ruud van Nistelrooy
2003 - Thierry Henry
2004 - Thierry Henry
2005 - Frank Lampard
2006 - Wayne Rooney
2007 - Cristiano Ronaldo
2008 - Cristiano Ronaldo
2009 - Steven Gerrard
2010 - Wayne Rooney
2011 - RAUL MEIRELES
2012 - Robin van Persie
2013 - n/a
2014 - Luis Suarez
2015 - Alexis Sanchez
2016 - Riyad Mahrez
2017 - Harry Kane
2018 - Mohamed Salah
2019 - Eden Hazard

Some of the Premier League's greatest ever players.
Oh and one guy who scored five goals in seven matches one season.
You'll have to go a long way to find a stranger winner of a major PFA award.
Meireles went on to join Chelsea after just one season on Merseyside, helping the Blues lift the Champions League in 2012.
He then signed for Fenerbahce shortly after, where he played until he retired in 2016.
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