Steven Gerrard fully expects Wayne Rooney to one day succeed him as Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year.
The Liverpool captain was presented with the 2006 trophy at a gala dinner in London last night after he topped the poll as voted for by his colleagues ahead of the other five leading candidates — Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, Manchester United star Rooney and Chelsea trio Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry, last year's winner.
Rooney is still only 20, and picked up the young player trophy for the second time.
Gerrard himself won that award back in 2001, and the 25-year-old England midfielder believes it is only a matter of time before Rooney has his hands on the prestigious main prize.
The Reds skipper revealed he had voted for his England team-mate as young player, as well as Henry.
Gerrard declared: "Wayne is a fantastic talent - and I am sure it will not be too long before Wayne is sitting exactly where I am now."
The England midfielder had been third in last season's vote, and went on to guide the Reds to a famous Champions League final victory on penalties over AC Milan in Istanbul.
While Liverpool may not have hit the same heights in Europe during the current campaign, Rafael Benitez's men have climbed up the Barclays Premiership table to third place and on Saturday knocked Chelsea out of the FA Cup to reach the final in Cardiff next month.
Gerrard, though, felt any of the nominees would have been a worthy winner. He commented: "I am still in shock to be honest. If you look at the shortlist, there are five other guys who have so much talent. They are all special players.
"And then there are also the guys who have not made the shortlist — there are so many players who could have won this award."
Henry collected the accolade in both 2003 and 2004, while other previous winners include former England captain Gary Lineker, current Blackburn boss Mark Hughes and recently retired Newcastle striker Alan Shearer.
Gerrard reflected: "I looked at the list of past winners and there are some fantastic names on there — some legends, so I am really proud to have joined them, it is really special."
Rooney's goals have helped the Red Devils to second place in the Premiership, and he will be aiming to delay Chelsea's title party when the two sides meet at Stamford Bridge next week.
To receive recognition again from his fellow professionals meant a lot to the Manchester United and England forward.
Rooney said: "To win it twice on the run is a great honour and I am delighted with the award. As a team, we [United] have done a bit better than last year, so it is an improvement. Hopefully we can continue that and I will be sitting here again next season."
The other names short-listed for the young player award were Charlton striker Darren Bent, Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United, Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon, Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand.
