Twenty-one assists. A Premier League record that wiped out De Bruyne and Henry from the history books. And now Bruno Fernandes has the double — FWA and PFA Player of the Year in the same season.
The Manchester United captain picked up the PFA award at Tuesday's ceremony in Manchester, making him the standout individual of the 2025/26 campaign despite United finishing the season without silverware. That context actually makes this more interesting than it looks on the surface. His fellow professionals — the people who have to face him week in, week out — voted him the best player in the division. That's not a popularity contest. That's recognition from people who know exactly what they're dealing with.
Fernandes was honest about how the record crept into his head. "I haven't thought about the record much until you guys started commenting so much," he said. "Obviously, then when you start getting closer, you start thinking about it." He was also quick to spread the credit: "If I'm assisting, Manchester United is getting goals." Hard to argue with that logic.
Arsenal dominate the Team of the Year — but miss out on the top prize
The PFA shortlist read like a two-horse race between United's captain and Arsenal's engine room, with Declan Rice the closest challenger. Rice ended up on the losing side of that vote, though he and four other Gunners — David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber, and William Saliba — made the Premier League Team of the Year. Five Arsenal players in the XI tells you everything about how consistent they were across the season. Their failure to convert that consistency into the title is a question that will define their summer.
Manchester City contributed Haaland, Cherki, Semenyo, and young Nico O'Reilly, who claimed the Young Player of the Year award after a domestic cup double and a strong World Cup showing. The one genuine surprise in the XI? Igor Thiago of Brentford, whose breakthrough season earned him a Brazil World Cup squad place and a deserved spot alongside the Premier League's elite.
The full PFA Award winners
- PFA Men's Player of the Year: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
- PFA Women's Player of the Year: Bunny Shaw (Manchester City) — 21 goals, WSL Golden Boot, helped end Chelsea's title dominance
- PFA Men's Young Player of the Year: Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City)
- PFA Women's Young Player of the Year: Olivia Smith (Arsenal)
- PFA Merit Awards: Sir Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney OBE
Dalglish's merit award needs little justification — 515 Liverpool appearances, eight First Division titles, three European Cups, and a managerial career that matched his playing one. Carney, 39, has carved out a second career in broadcasting and led a UK Government-commissioned independent review of women's football in 2023.
Bunny Shaw's double — FWA and PFA women's awards — mirrors Fernandes' achievement on the men's side. Twenty-one goals, the Golden Boot, and a WSL title for City. That she did it in a league where Chelsea had a stranglehold makes the numbers land harder.
For anyone mapping the Premier League's title picture heading into next season, this awards snapshot is telling. Arsenal built the most complete squad in the country by PFA voter consensus. They still didn't win the league. That gap — between depth and decisiveness — is exactly the problem their next transfer window needs to solve.
