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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been named the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) men’s Player of the Year after a standout campaign that saw him complete a clean sweep of the major individual awards.
Fernandes received the award at the PFA’s annual ceremony in Manchester on Tuesday, beating Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland to the prize.
The 31-year-old was rewarded after registering a Premier League-record 21 assists last season, while also scoring nine goals as Manchester United recovered from a difficult campaign to finish third.
The award makes Fernandes the first Manchester United player to win the PFA men’s Player of the Year prize since Wayne Rooney in 2010.
Having joined United from Sporting CP in 2020, Fernandes surpassed 200 goal contributions for the club in all competitions in February, further underlining his influence since arriving at Old Trafford.
The Portugal international had already been recognised by journalists and the Premier League, winning the Football Writers’ Association and Premier League Player of the Year awards earlier in the summer.
His latest recognition therefore completes a remarkable individual treble, with Fernandes now having won the three major player-of-the-year awards for the 2025/26 Premier League season.
Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly was named PFA Young Player of the Year after a breakthrough campaign in which he made 34 league appearances under manager Pep Guardiola and earned a place in England’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad.
O’Reilly also played a decisive role in Manchester City’s Carabao Cup triumph, scoring twice against Arsenal at Wembley in February.
Arsenal had the strongest representation in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year, with five players selected, compared with four from Manchester City. Fernandes and Brentford striker Igor Thiago completed the XI.
The full PFA men’s award winners were Hayden Hackney of Middlesbrough, who won the Championship Player of the Year award; Leyton Orient’s Dom Ballard, who won in League One; and Swindon Town’s Aaron Drinan, who was named League Two Player of the Year.
