Bruno Fernandes named Premier League Player of the Season

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been named the Premier League's Player of the Season for 2025-26, topping votes among supporters, managers and fellow captains. It is the 31-year-old Portuguese midfielder's first time winning the award in his six seasons at Old Trafford.

Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 17 assists across all competitions during the campaign, with 14 of those goals and 11 assists coming in the Premier League. The numbers placed him among the most prolific creator-finishers in the division, blending goal-scoring with playmaking from a deeper attacking-midfield role.

Manchester United finished fourth in the table, qualifying directly for the Champions League. Fernandes started 36 of the club's 38 league matches and also won the Captain of the Season vote conducted by the Professional Footballers' Association.

United manager Rúben Amorim, speaking through the club's official channels after the award was announced, said Fernandes had 'made a difference not only with his numbers, but with the leadership he transmitted to his team-mates' and 'deserved this recognition'. Within Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system, Fernandes operated as a hybrid creator and second striker, central to United's build-up.

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool finished second in the voting. The Egyptian winger ended his season with 22 goals and 10 assists as Liverpool finished runners-up in the league. Third place went to Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard, whose 12 goals and 14 assists helped the Gunners to a first league title since 1998.

Fernandes, addressing the award publicly, said he had 'won this together with my team-mates, not alone'. Since arriving at Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020, the midfielder has finished in the club's top three for goal contributions in every full season.

A notable feature of the campaign was the consistency of Fernandes's individual output during a turbulent year for United, whose league position oscillated between fourth and seventh through much of the spring. United fell 14 points behind the title race in the opening months but lifted their points-per-game average once Amorim's system bedded in.

Fernandes is the first Portuguese player to be voted Premier League Player of the Season. Cristiano Ronaldo, his international team-mate and predecessor at United, never won the award during his original or second spell at Old Trafford; Ronaldo has been playing in Saudi Arabia's Pro League since 2024.

Speculation about Fernandes's future is expected to intensify during the summer transfer window. Reports have linked him to Barcelona and Saudi Pro League clubs, though Manchester United have opened talks aimed at extending his current contract, which expires in summer 2027.

League champions Arsenal ended a 22-year wait for the title. The season will be remembered for the new champion's emergence as much as for Fernandes's individual recognition. The 2026-27 Premier League season begins on 16 August. This article is general information; transfer-window reporting is necessarily provisional and may evolve in coming weeks.