Bruno Fernandes named England’s player of the year by Premier League players

Bruno Fernandes has been named England’s player of the year by his fellow Premier League footballers, becoming the first Manchester United player to receive the award since Wayne Rooney in 2010.

The Manchester United captain was chosen ahead of Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, who helped his club win the league title last season.

Fernandes’ award recognises his influence during a period in which Manchester United endured fluctuating results and another change in management. The Portugal international has been one of the club’s most productive players since arriving at Old Trafford in January 2020, helping to restore some optimism around the team.

During his time at Manchester United, Fernandes has helped the club win the English League Cup and FA Cup, return to the Champions League and set a club record for the number of assists in a single Premier League season.

His success ends a 16-year wait for a Manchester United winner of the players’ award. Rooney was the last player from the club to claim the honour, in 2010.

Fernandes is also the first Portuguese player to win the prize since Cristiano Ronaldo collected it with Manchester United in 2007 and 2008.

Overall, he is the eighth Manchester United player to receive the award. The club’s previous winners were Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Teddy Sheringham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Rooney.

Fernandes’ victory means Portugal now has three winners of the award, matching Egypt’s total. All three of Egypt’s successes came through former Liverpool forward and captain of the Egypt national team Mohamed Salah, who won in 2018, 2022 and 2025.

Portugal and Egypt are level with Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and Belgium for the number of winners.

Fernandes has also completed a personal double this season after being recognised by the Football Writers’ Association. His latest award was decided by players, adding to the honour presented by football journalists.

Fernandes’ 2025-26 contribution

Manchester United endured an unsettled previous campaign, with inconsistent performances contributing to the decision to dismiss head coach Ruben Amorim. Michael Carrick was then appointed as interim manager.

The club finished third in the Premier League table, securing a return to the Champions League after a two-year absence.

Fernandes played a direct role in 30 of Manchester United’s 69 Premier League goals during the campaign. He scored nine times and supplied 21 assists, meaning he contributed to 43% of the team’s total in the competition.

Those 21 assists also moved him beyond Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne in the Premier League’s all-time assists standings, giving him one more than each of them.

The award has historically not always gone to a player who has won the league title. Since the Premier League era began in 1992, 14 players have collected the honour on 17 occasions without being champions in the same season.

Fernandes is now the 15th player to win it without lifting the league trophy, taking the total number of such victories to 18.

De Bruyne, formerly of Manchester City and now a Napoli player, was the last winner to claim the award without winning the league title. He received it in 2020.