Bruno Fernandes won the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Season award ahead of Declan Rice and Erling Haaland. The Manchester United captain won 45% of the overall share in a potentially record-breaking season, beating the Arsenal midfielder by 28 votes.
Fernandes, 31, has made 32 appearances in the Premier League and has provided 19 assists, leaving him just one away from equaling the record held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry. The Portugal international has three games left to match or exceed that total, having scored eight goals in addition to those scored by his team-mates.
The remaining games for United to add to Fernandes’ record are away to Sunderland, at home to Nottingham Forest and on the final day against Brighton & Hove Albion. They defeated Liverpool last time at Old Trafford and qualified for next season’s Champions League.
Fernandes head coach Michael Carrick paid tribute to his captain for receiving the award. He said: “It’s great. I’m happy for Bruno and I think he fully deserves it.”
“I think with an award like this, which is judged over such a long period of time, whoever wins it is very deserving, and I think Bruno’s performance and the impact he’s had on the group this season, and of course since I’ve been here, has been great.”
“I think there’s going to be a stage in your career where you’re evolving and learning. I think you’re in a really good place, probably around 29/30/31/32. You’ve got a lot of experience and physically you’re probably at your peak. And he’s shown that he’s in his best years and his level of performance was better than most, as the awards show.”
Carrick continued: “I don’t think he’s a player who necessarily cares about individual awards. I think he’s a team player. He shows that with his leadership, being a captain, leading a group. That just shows his consistency over time, his level of performance against some of the great players in our league.”
Fernandes is the first United player to win the award since Wayne Rooney in the 2009/10 season. Seven other players have won the award, dating back to Johnny Carey in the 1948/49 season, one year after the award was created.
Sir Bobby Charlton became the second United player to win the honour, in 1965/66, followed by teammate George Best two years later in 1967/68. After waiting almost 30 years, Eric Cantona scooped it in 1996/97.
The victory was the first of three by a United player in six years, following Roy Keane in 1999/2000 and Teddy Sheringham in 2000/2001. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only United player to win the award more than once, having won it in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons.
