- Manchester United midfielder wins Football Writers’ Association player of the year
- Bruno Fernandes’ sensational season
- First Manchester United winner since 2010
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has won the Football Writers’ Association Men’s Footballer of the Year award for the 2025/26 campaign.
It marks the first time in nine years that a player outside of Liverpool or Manchester City has claimed the honour, with N’Golo Kante the last man to break the duopoly.
It also marks the first time in 16 years that a Manchester United player has lifted the award, with Wayne Rooney claiming it back in the 2009/10 campaign—a stark reminder of the club’s barren domestic spell across the last decade and a half.
The Portuguese playmaker edged out Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice in a remarkably close finish, beating the Englishman by just 28 votes, whilst Erling Haaland placed third.
Overall, Fernandes secured 45 per cent of the vote, whilst Manchester City striker Bunny Shaw claimed the women’s award.
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Bruno Fernandes Named FWA Winner
Does this finally push Fernandes into the echelon of Premier League greats? The United captain now sits just three assists away from equalling the record for the most assists in a single Premier League season, with three games still left to play.
Not only that, Fernandes has created more chances than any other player in the league with 120, whilst also producing the most big chances with 29.
Dominik Szoboszlai comes closest in overall chances created with 65, whilst Rayan Cherki sits second for big chances created with 15. Fernandes has almost doubled both totals.
There is no denying that Fernandes has benefited from focusing on just one competition this season, but he has still spearheaded United’s rise back into the Champions League places after the club staggered to a 15th-place finish last year.
His resurgence under Michael Carrick has also become impossible to ignore, with 12 of his 19 assists arriving under the interim head coach.
The beating heart of the United machine, Fernandes has dictated matches with authority, dragged United through difficult moments, and delivered when the club needed him most.
All this whilst providing a creative link that few can match.
With the last four winners of this award all going on to claim the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, Fernandes may now stand on the verge of yet another landmark moment in a season already drenched in brilliance.
