Bruno Fernandes Wins PFA Player of the Year, Becomes Second Portuguese After Ronaldo

Bruno Fernandes has added another major individual honour to his Manchester United career, winning the PFA Player of the Year award after a record-breaking 2025-26 season.

The United captain becomes only the second Portuguese player to receive the award, following Cristiano Ronaldo, who won it in 2007 and 2008 during his first spell at Old Trafford. Fernandes was instrumental in United’s third-place Premier League finish, registering a league-record 21 assists and scoring nine goals. The award is voted for by members of the Professional Footballers’ Association.

His latest achievement also extends Manchester United’s dominance in the men’s PFA Player of the Year award. Players from the club have now won the honour 12 times, more than those from any other club in England and Wales.

Fernandes flourished under Michael Carrick, who gave his captain greater freedom to influence matches in the final third. The midfielder’s creativity and attacking contribution made him one of the standout performers in the league.

Since arriving at Old Trafford in 2020, Fernandes has produced 110 goals and 106 assists for United. He also reached 200 Premier League goal involvements in 314 appearances, with only Wayne Rooney reaching that milestone faster for the club.

• Fernandes makes PFA Team of the Year
• Fernandes was also included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

He was joined by Arsenal’s David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Jurrien Timber, Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly, Declan Rice and Rayan Cherki, as well as Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo and Brentford forward Igor Thiago.

Manchester City youngster O’Reilly collected the PFA Young Player of the Year award after making 53 appearances in all competitions and scoring nine goals during his breakthrough campaign.

In the women’s categories, Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw won the PFA Women’s Player of the Year award for the second time after leading the Women’s Super League scoring charts with 21 goals. Arsenal’s Olivia Smith was named Women’s Young Player of the Year for a second successive year.

United suffer early blow

Fernandes’ individual success comes at a difficult moment for Manchester United, who have endured a disappointing start to the new Premier League season.

Carrick’s side lost 2-0 away to newly promoted Hull City in their opening fixture. The defeat exposed defensive problems and ended the optimism that had followed United’s strong finish to the previous campaign.

Hull took control with two first-half goals. Semi Ajayi opened the scoring in the 17th minute after United failed to deal with danger inside their penalty area, before Nobel Mendy doubled the lead with a header in the 38th minute.

United struggled to respond after the interval despite the introduction of Marcus Rashford, who made his first competitive appearance for the club in 618 days.

Bryan Mbeumo came closest to getting United back into the contest, but Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis kept his effort out.

Carrick now faces pressure to address United’s defensive shortcomings, with the club still working on additions before the transfer window closes. A move for Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba is reportedly nearing completion.

While United’s team has made a poor start, Fernandes’ PFA Player of the Year award underlines the level of performance he delivered last season. The club will now look to their captain to reproduce that form and help turn their fortunes around.