- Manchester United midfielder “honoured” to go level with Cristiano Ronaldo
- Both have six player of the month awards
- Both are just one off the record
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes says he feels “honoured” to draw level with fellow countryman Cristiano Ronaldo as the club’s all-time leader for Premier League Player of the Month awards.
The midfielder claimed his sixth award—and his first in a year—for his performances in March 2026.
He now sits level with Ronaldo and moves ahead of Wayne Rooney. Ronaldo’s most recent award came during his second spell at Manchester United in April 2022.
That places both Portuguese players joint-second overall, alongside Steven Gerrard—one behind the leading trio of Sergio Aguero, Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane.
Winner, yet again
Fernandes spoke of his pride in winning the award and how he’s reached Ronaldo’s record. He told club media:
‘‘Yeah, it’s always good company to be in. We know when his records are there, his name is gonna be always around, so it’s quite common for anyone and everyone in the world of football. But it is obviously a huge honour and privilege for me to be close to him in this category.”
He added:
“Obviously, I am always grateful even more [because] we know that all the fans vote for it, so I really appreciate that they have voted for me in this month and in all of the other five that I’ve got before also,” he began. It was a good month, not only for me, but also for the team. So I am very happy with it.”
When Fernandes was questioned on his most memorable March moment, the midfielder recounted United’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa, a huge moment in the Champions League race.
“I think the Villa one because obviously the importance of the game. Two teams fighting for kind of the same position and obviously the result was very good. I think performance-wise it was a very good performance from my side, but also from the team. We are very good at closing the game and getting the three points.”
In the crucial fixture, Fernandes would assist twice, bringing his total up to 16 for the season.
He would first provide a sublime corner to Casemiro, who made no mistake in finding the net, before laying off a line-cutting pass to the feet of Matheus Cunha, who slotted it past Emiliano Martinez for the winner.
Could Fernandes Go Number One?
Fernandes won his first award in February 2020, during his debut season in England. He remains the only player to win it four times in a single calendar year.
Across 2020, he went back-to-back twice—February and March in 2019/20, then November and December in 2020/21.
Only eight others have managed consecutive wins: Robbie Fowler, Dennis Bergkamp, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Mohamed Salah, Ilkay Gundogan, and Marcus Rashford.
But now, his biggest obstacle standing in his way of equaling, or even surpassing, the trio of Salah, Kane and Aguero, is time. His contract runs until the end of next season, with an option to extend by a further year.
Even so, uncertainty lingers, given that last summer Saudi outfit Al-Hilal offered United a £80 million transfer fee for their skipper, whilst also willing to shell out €25 million a year net, equivalent to triple his current salary.
Fernandes second most recent award—received in March 2025—ended a four-year drought. If he wants to top the list, the margin for error has gone.
