Bruno Fernandes named PFA Men’s Players’ Player of the Year for 2026

Bruno Fernandes, captain of Manchester United, was named the Professional Footballers’ Association Men’s Players’ Player of the Year for 2026 at the PFA’s annual awards presentation in Manchester on Tuesday, beating Declan Rice and Erling Haaland to the honour.

The award, presented annually to the player deemed the best in English football, is decided by votes from fellow professionals. Fernandes becomes the 12th Manchester United player to claim the prize and the club’s first winner since Wayne Rooney in 2010.

Fernandes received the accolade after what the article describes as possibly his best season at Old Trafford, producing a Premier League record 21 assists last season and scoring nine goals in the top flight.

Two other former United players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mark Hughes, have each won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award twice, the most by any Manchester United player in this category.

The original piece notes that, with Fernandes’s victory, it also provides a look back at all Manchester United players who have won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award.

Fernandes’s individual award capped a campaign in which Manchester United recovered form and finished in third place in the league.