Igor Thiago picks up the Premier League Player of the Month award for November after bagging five goals in four games to help Brentford to six points from a possible 12.

The Brazilian continued his sensational start to the season, taking his goal tally in the league to eleven, only behind Manchester City's Erling Haaland, who continues to lead the way with four more strikes.

Thiago, who had a quiet first season with the Bees following what was a club-record £30 million move from Club Brugge in the summer of 2024, after suffering multiple injuries that saw him miss 173 days and 37 games, has made himself a fan favourite this season.

His goals have been crucial for Brentford as they look to build a new dynamic under Keith Andrews, who succeeded their former long-serving manager Thomas Frank, who moved across the City to Spurs last summer.

The 24-year-old finally earned a deserved recognition with the Premier League award for November, beating Declan Rice, Harvey Barnes, Jeremy Doku, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Bruno Fernandes, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Reece James to the award.

His conquest saw him update famous lists in Premier League history, from joining his countryman to earning Brentford an honour, here are the two sensational facts behind Igor Thiago's Premier League Player of the Month award win.

Six Brazilians to be crowned PL Player of the Month

Since the start of the Premier League era, 140 Brazilians have been named in Matchday squads, 131 have had the chance to play in it, and out of all, just six have won the Player of the Month award, with Igor the most recent addition.

The award itself, introduced at the start of the 1994-95 season, did not have a Brazilian winner until March 1997, when Middlesbrough midfielder Juninho Paulista became the first-ever South American as well as Brazilian to win it.

It took more than six years before Edu Gasper, in the February of Arsenal's Invincibles campaign, became the second Brazilian to win the award, less than three years after Juan Sebastian Veron of Man United became the second South American and first Argentine to win it.

Seven years and a month after Edu, defender David Luiz won it with Chelsea, becoming the first defender to win the prize in over two years since Phil Jagielka of Everton in February 2009. It was only his second month in the league following his move from Benfica in the winter window.

Lucas Moura of Tottenham Hotspur was the next and the fifth Brazilian to win the prize, and that came in the first month of the 2018-19 season, when he scored three goals in as many games, to help Mauricio Pochettino's team start with a perfect record.

That was the final victory for Brazil in the Premier League Player of the Month award voting before Igor Thiago emerged as their knight in shiny armour.

Players like Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes, Gabriel Magalhaes, and others have received nominations but were not able to claim the prize.

Earned Brentford a mention in the company of PL elites

Igor Thiago wins Brentford's first-ever PL Player of the Month award

Igor Thiago's victory means Brentford joins the 36 Premier League teams to have produced Player of the Month award winners in the 31 years of its introduction.

Clubs to have produced Player of the Month winners - Premier League 

Tottenham Hotspur was first to produce a winner of the award when Germany striker Jurgen Klinsmann was crowned in August 1994, just a month after signing for the North Londoners, but Manchester United now leads the way for most won and most different winners with 49 and 24 respectively.

Paul Ince, in October 1994, was their first winner, in what was the third edition of the award, after Newcastle United's English midfielder Rob Lee had won it in September.

Liverpool has won 37 of the awards with 19 different winners. Mohamed Salah alone has won seven for them; a record joint-most by a single player, while Steven Gerrard has won six.

Arsenal's first taste of the award came in the final month of the first season in April 1995, with David Seaman becoming the first-ever goalkeeper to claim the prize. The Gunners now have 22 different winners, second only to Manchester United.

Their 32 awards also rank third behind United and Liverpool, with the duo of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp winning the most with four apiece.

Tottenham Hotspur, 26 awards and 15 different winners; Chelsea, 21 awards and 14 different winners; and Everton, 10 awards and 10 different winners, make up the only six clubs to boast multiple digits of different winners.

The aforementioned are joined by Manchester City, 21, and Newcastle United, 11, as the teams to reach double digits of awards, with nine and eight different winners respectively.

Sergio Aguero for Manchester City and Harry Kane for Tottenham Hotspur are in the company of Mohamed Salah for the joint-most Premier League Player of the Month awards won by a single player, seven each.

Aston Villa, Southampton, West Ham United, and Leeds United have seven, six, six, and five different winners, respectively, while Leicester City, Sunderland, and Blackburn all have four different winners.

West Bromwich Albion has three awards, with ex-Nigerian international, Peter Osazie Odemwingie winning all three, with the duo of Bolton and Fulham joining them on three awards, although their awards were won by three different players each.

Bournemouth, Charlton Athletic, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, and Swansea City all have two awards and two winners each — completing the list of 24 teams who have produced winners of the Premier League Player of the Month award more than once.

Of the 24, West Bromwich Albion is the only club with just one winner, Peter Osazie Odemwingie, and they are joined by 13 other clubs who have contributed just one winner each to complete the 37.

Birmingham City, Derby County, Hull City, Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Portsmouth, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday, Watford, Wimbledon, and of course the latest in the club, Brentford.

Premier League Player of the Month: The 49, 37, and the 12

49 different clubs have played in the Premier League since the introduction of the Player of the Month award in August 1994, and 37 have produced winners; 12 other clubs have failed to do so.

Brentford's success means Wolves, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Burnley now remain the only three teams currently in the top-flight not to have produced a winner of the Premier League Player of the Month award.

Nine others, who fell into this category but are currently in lower leagues, are made up of popular names like Wigan Athletic, Sheffield United, Luton Town, Stoke City, Huddersfield Town, and Bolton Wanderers.

The not-so-famous ones in the list comprise the trio of Barnsley, Blackpool, and Bradford City.

Some difference a single achievement can make 

Igor Thiago’s November triumph is more than a personal accolade; it is a moment cemented in Premier League lore, placing him among a select group of Brazilian greats and earning his club a cherished spot on an elite roster.

After watching both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa depart in the summer, Igor Thiago's form is a timely delight for both the fans and Keith Andrews.

As the season progresses, his stunning form, crucial to the new Brentford, will be looked upon as the start of something great, both for the player who overcame a tough start and for a Brentford side seeking to continue their top-flight status and maybe reach Europe.

This award not only celebrates the striker’s current brilliance but throws the spotlight onto the remaining 12 clubs, eligible but exempted from this elusive honor. 

While Brentford proudly exits that group, the pressure now mounts on the likes of Wolves, Brighton, and Burnley to break their own duck and complete the roll of honor, while the time may never come for some of those already outside the top-flight.