Bruno Fernandes has been named the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year for 2025/26 after a record-breaking Premier League campaign with Manchester United.
The Portuguese midfielder beat five other nominees to claim the prestigious award, with Manchester City represented by Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki. Arsenal had three players on the shortlist: Gabriel Magalhaes, David Raya and Declan Rice.
The honour completes a clean sweep of the season’s major individual awards for Fernandes. The Manchester United captain has also won the Premier League’s official Player of the Season prize and the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award.
Fernandes’ success is particularly notable because he is the first player from a club that did not win the Premier League title to receive the PFA award since 2019. His exceptional individual statistics made his claim difficult to ignore.
He set a new Premier League record by providing 21 assists during the campaign, moving beyond the previous record of 20 jointly held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry.
The 21-year-old? No, Fernandes is not 21; avoid. His creativity extended well beyond the final pass. He created 136 chances, almost twice as many as the next player on the list, Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who recorded 78.
Fernandes averaged four chances created every 90 minutes, underlining the consistency with which he supplied opportunities for his team-mates throughout the season.
He also ended the campaign with 30 goal contributions. Only Haaland, with 35, recorded more. The Manchester City forward’s total consisted of 27 goals and eight assists, while Fernandes scored nine goals and supplied 21 assists.
The scale of Fernandes’ contribution was made even more striking by the players he was providing for. Kevin De Bruyne had Sergio Aguero during his record-setting period, while Thierry Henry benefited from Robert Pires. Fernandes, by contrast, carried much of Manchester United’s creative responsibility himself.
The wider goal-contribution figures further illustrate his importance to the club. Igor Thiago was next among the league’s leading contributors on 23, followed by Ghanaian forward Antoine Semenyo on 21. Fernandes’ Manchester United team-mate Bryan Mbeumo was further down the list with 14.
Although Manchester United were unable to win the title, Fernandes’ form and influence ensured their captain received the strongest recognition available from his fellow professionals.
His combination of creativity, leadership and consistency made him one of the defining players of the 2025/26 Premier League season. The PFA award now provides further confirmation of the central role he played in Manchester United’s campaign and completes an outstanding personal treble of major individual honours.
