The shortlist was released Wednesday and is rounded out by Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane, Liverpool's Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk, and Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Heung-Min Son, Kane's teammate at Spurs, isn't nominated for the award despite scoring 23 non-penalty goals in the Premier League - more than any other player - and providing seven assists. City's midfield duo Bernardo Silva and Rodri and Liverpool full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are other notable absentees.
Salah was named the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year for 2021-22 in April. De Bruyne recently collected the Premier League's Player of the Season award for the second time in three years.
Salah (2019), Van Dijk (2020), and De Bruyne (2021) are previous winners of the PFA's top men's prize.
Nominees for other PFA awards
Women's PFA Players' Player of the Year
- Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)
- Pernille Harder (Chelsea)
- Lauren Hemp (Manchester City)
- Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
- Kim Little (Arsenal)
- Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal)
Men's PFA Young Player of the Year
- Phil Foden (Manchester City)
- Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace)
- Reece James (Chelsea)
- Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa)
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
- Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal)
Women's PFA Young Player of the Year
- Lauren Hemp (Manchester City)
- Lauren James (Chelsea)
- Frida Maanum (Arsenal)
- Jessica Naz (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Ella Toone (Manchester United)
- Maya Le Tissier (Brighton and Hove Albion)
The PFA award winners will be announced on June 9.