Bruno Fernandes PFA Player of the Year 2026 recognition came after the Portuguese midfielder created 21 league goals across the season, surpassing the previous records held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne — a mark that had stood as one of the competition’s most celebrated individual benchmarks and that Fernandes eclipsed with a consistency of creative output rarely sustained over a full campaign.
He also contributed nine goals of his own as United, despite a difficult opening half to the season, recovered under Michael Carrick to finish third in the Premier League and secure a return to the Champions League.
Fernandes was visibly moved to have been chosen by his fellow professionals rather than by external voters, describing the award as a particularly significant honour given that the men voting for him are the same players he competes against across 38 league games each season.
Fernandes was visibly moved to have been chosen by his fellow professionals rather than by external voters, describing the award as a particularly significant honour given that the men voting for him are the same players he competes against across 38 league games each season.
“It is obviously a very proud moment. They are the ones you go on the pitch against and it’s probably not easy to vote for someone you play against,” he said, acknowledging the specific weight that peer recognition carries in a vote conducted entirely among those best positioned to understand how difficult his contributions were to deal with at close quarters.
The award is the first for a Manchester United player since Wayne Rooney claimed the trophy in the 2009-10 season, and arrives alongside the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year honour Fernandes received in May, making him the unambiguous standout performer across English football for the entire campaign.
Manchester City striker Bunny Shaw took home the women’s equivalent award for the second time, having first claimed the PFA Women’s Player of the Year recognition in 2023-24.
Manchester City striker Bunny Shaw took home the women’s equivalent award for the second time, having first claimed the PFA Women’s Player of the Year recognition in 2023-24.
The 29-year-old scored 21 goals across the season on her way to a third consecutive Golden Boot and — most significantly — her first Women’s Super League title, a combination of individual excellence and collective success that made her the clear choice of her peers for the second time in three years.
Shaw was also separately recognised by the Football Writers’ Association, confirming her status as the defining player of the women’s game in England during the 2025-26 season.
Together, Bruno Fernandes PFA Player of the Year 2026 and Bunny Shaw women’s award announcements reflect a season in which elite individual performance was the story at both ends of the English professional game.
Together, Bruno Fernandes PFA Player of the Year 2026 and Bunny Shaw women’s award announcements reflect a season in which elite individual performance was the story at both ends of the English professional game.
Fernandes dragged United to a Champions League place through the sheer quality and volume of his creative output.
Shaw fired City to a league title that had eluded the women’s side despite years of investment and expectation.
Both awards, chosen by the players themselves, carry a particular authenticity — and both winners enter the next season having been told by the people they face every week that they were the best their sport had to offer.
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