Tottenham winger Gareth Bale has been voted the 2013 Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association.

The Wales international, 23, topped the poll of journalists with a narrow victory over Manchester United forward Robin van Persie, who was last year’s recipient when at Arsenal.

Bale’s 24 goals in all competitions helped take Spurs into the quarter-finals of the Europa League and kept them in the race to secure a return to the Champions League via a top-four finish in the Premier League.

The Spurs midfielder will receive the prestigious FWA accolade, which has been running since 1948, at a gala dinner on May 9.

Bale was last week also named Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year by the Professional Footballers’ Association.

Chelsea’s Juan Mata was third in the journalists’ poll, with Bale taking first place with 53 per cent of the votes ahead of Van Persie.

Bale becomes Spurs’ first winner of the FWA award since David Ginola in 1999.

The Tottenham midfielder said: “It is a huge honour to receive the Footballer of the Year award from the Football Writers’ Association.

“It means a lot to win this award when you consider the number of players that have been outstanding for their clubs this season.

“I have been very fortunate to be playing in such a fantastic team and I owe a lot to my team-mates and, obviously, the manager who has shown such faith in me.”