Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been crowned the 2026 PFA Men’s Players’ Player of the Year at the 53rd annual PFA Awards held at The Opera House in Manchester on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. The Portuguese midfielder saw off competition from Arsenal’s title-winning trio Declan Rice, David Raya and Gabriel Magalhães, and Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki to win English football’s most prestigious peer-voted award.
The award caps a historic individual season for the 31-year-old. Fernandes broke the Premier League single-season assist record with 21 assists, surpassing the long-standing mark of 20 jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, while adding nine goals to guide United to a third-place finish and Champions League qualification.
It completes a clean sweep of England’s major individual honours for Fernandes in 2026. The United captain had already been named Premier League Player of the Season, FWA Footballer of the Year, and Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, making him the first Manchester United player since Wayne Rooney in 2010 to win the PFA award.
The victory is particularly significant because the PFA award is voted for by fellow professional players across English football, a recognition of peer respect. Fernandes, who also won the FWA award last month, beat the only former winner on the shortlist, Haaland, who won it in 2023 after City’s treble.
With this triumph, Bruno Fernandes becomes the latest United legend to join the roll of honour alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane and Eric Cantona, ending a 16-year wait for Old Trafford since Rooney’s 2010 win.
