The Championship player who stole Bale's Welsh crown

Gareth Bale is no longer the king of football in Wales. His modest start to the season for Real Madrid has been compounded by losing out on the Welsh player of the year award. 

Rather surprisingly, the award did not go to Aaron Ramsey or Ben Woodburn, but Chris Gunter, defender for Championship side Reading.

Bale, who has won the award six times in total, has been named as Wales' best player for the past four years, but the Welsh FA finally decided to give the honour to a different player, who has enjoyed a great year for Chris Coleman's side.

Gunter has 81 caps to his name, the second most by any outfield player, behind only Gary Speed, and he is just 11 caps behind record holder Neville Southall, who has 92. Bale, meanwhile, has played 68 times for Wales, a number which has been limited by injuries or physical problems.

The 28-year-old has played in an impressive 61 consecutive Wales matches, an incredible number which demonstrates his importance to his national side. 

Whilst the main trophy went to Gunter, the players' player was awarded to Gareth Bale, while Joe Allen took the fan's player of the year.

Finally, 17-year-old Ben Woodburn, who scored the vital goal in a 1-0 win over Austria on his Wales debut, was named young player of the year. Woodburn is tipped to replace Bale for his country, and will hope to replicate Gunter's vital contribution to the national side.