Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been named the 2025/26 Player of the Year and the most deserving recipient of the award by the Football Writers’ Association.
Bruno Fernandes named FWA Player of the Year (Image: Getty Images)
Late on May 21, 2025, Bruno Fernandes comes out to the media in the back of Bilbao’s San Mames Stadium after losing to Spurs in the Europa League final. He always is like that, Fernandes. Whether he’s man of the match or receiving abuse from the pundits, he always keeps his head up whether he wins or loses.
Whatever you think of his occasional performances on the pitch, Fernandes has always represented Manchester United and excelled off the pitch. Anyway, shortly after his dismal performance in the final in Bilbao, Fernandes surprised the assembled press by suggesting that Old Trafford bosses might want to sell him.
He knows how things work, he said. Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal are said to be willing to pay £100m for him. It is unclear whether such an offer was formally made. But what is clear is that one or two of the Old Trafford bosses may have thought selling Fernandes, now 30, would be good business.
Thankfully for United fans and the club itself, the idea was ultimately rejected. As a result, Manchester United qualified for the Champions League.
It has been far from a great season for the club. However, without Fernandes’ leadership and contributions, they would not have come close to their current Premier League standings. It’s very simple.
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That’s why he deserves to win the Player of the Year award. In terms of an individual player’s importance to the team’s cause, it’s hard to think of a more valuable player than Fernandes.
Is it Erling Haaland? That’s why the Manchester City striker came third in the voting. There is always a dilemma when voting in this type of poll. Should the fact that the team was not successful count against the candidate?
Frankly, it’s a matter of choice. Famously, both the Football Writers’ Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association awarded David Ginola their individual awards for the 1998-1999 season.
Bruno Fernandes is one of the few players who performed well under Ruben Amorim (Image: Getty Images)
Sir Alex Ferguson, whose United side won the treble, regularly used this choice as evidence that the writers were unaware of their intentions. He’ll say, ‘We won the treble and you gave David Ginola an award… for one good goal against fucking Barnsley.’
To be honest, it was a good goal, but it was a strange line. The truth, of course, is that the vote was divided because United had a number of outstanding players, including Peter Schmeichel, David Beckham, Andy Cole and Paul Scholes.
Arsenal’s second-place finisher Declan Rice, Gabriel and David Raya all received votes for Player of the Year. But again, that doesn’t get you anything from Fernandes. There’s a good chance his fellow players will also recognize him with an award.
Fernandez has not only honed his acting skills for a director who wants to work with him long-term. He was great as Reuben Amorim, a slightly different role, but also as Michael Carrick.
Declan Rice finished second in Player of the Year voting (Image: Getty Images)
He is now just one away from reaching 20 assists, the most in a season in the Premier League. And by the end of the season, there is no doubt that he will set a Premier League record for the percentage of goals assisted.
That’s the most meaningful statistic. He has assisted on over 30 per cent of United’s Premier League goals this season. Kevin De Bruyne’s total of 20 goals in 2019/20 means he assisted on 19.6 per cent of City’s goals in the Premier League campaign.
But statistics never tell the whole story. And the simple fact is that when you watch United play, he is almost always the most influential player on the pitch, no matter who the opponents are. That’s why he has been named Player of the Year for the 2025/26 season.
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