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Sergio Aguero never being voted into the Premier League’s team of the year has been portrayed as the greatest election scandal of the year.

But the fact his team-mate David Silva has made it into the select XI ONCE in his five marvellous seasons with the Blues is close to criminal.

In those five campaigns, the footballers of the Premier League have cast some strange votes – Nani, Samir Nasri, Jack Wilshere, Scott Parker, Juan Mata, Michael Carrick, Adam Lallana, Steven Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho.

To be frank, none of them has been fit to lace Silva’s boots over the past five years. He has been City’s most consistent performer, the man who makes the Blues tick, gives them a cutting edge.

The mercurial little Spaniard did make it into the PFA team in 2011-12, the season when City won the Premier League for the first time, along with teammate Yaya Toure.

Perhaps the fact that he has shared the City midfield with Toure is a prime factor behind the persistent snubs when the members of the Professional Footballers Association sit down to make their mark on the ballot papers.

Toure has twice made it into the team, in City’s title years of 2012 and 2014.

That was undoubtedly the correct decision, as he was a colossus in both seasons, scoring vital goals and giving the team its rhythm and tempo.

But if you ask City fans who regularly watch the team, a big majority would vote for Silva as the best player of the last five seasons.

He is undoubtedly the most consistent – when he has a bad game, it comes as a shock to the system, and he rarely dips as low as average. Indeed, his performances have varied between good, excellent and out-of-this-world.

Toure HAS been the heartbeat of the team, as well as a player who comes up with big moments in big games but Silva has been the brain.

And, while Toure has had a tendency to go missing in games against lesser opposition, Silva is never out of the game – even in those rare poor appearances, he still tries to make things happen.

No wonder former Spain coach Luis Aragones said that Silva had the “biggest cojones” of any of the players in his squad that won the European Championships in 2008.

It is not so much his physical bravery – although he has that in spades – but his mental courage.

He takes the ball in tight situations, he attempts daring passes, he keeps on playing football when his team seems to be falling apart around him.

In terms of consistent performance has been THE best midfielder in the Premier League for the last five seasons, and PFA members should hang their heads in shame.