Bruno Fernandes Missed Out on the Premier League Title—Yet He Reigned as Its Greatest Player

Bruno Fernandes was voted the standout player of the 2025–26 Premier League season by the very opponents he faced throughout the campaign as Manchester United's captain.

Fernandes collected the PFA Players' Player of the Year award on Tuesday evening, a recognition of his exceptional contributions on the field, which included shattering the Premier League's single-season assist record that had remained intact for 23 years.

Unlike other individual honors where the voting is handled by journalists, supporters, sponsors or specialist panels, the PFA accolade is decided by fellow professionals. This lends the award particular weight, since it's difficult to dispute the judgment of those who faced Fernandes firsthand last season … yet some still did.

The same controversy that flared when Fernandes claimed the FWA Footballer of the Year in early May was reignited by those who felt Declan Rice was the more worthy recipient. The Premier League Player of the Season followed for Fernandes in late May, making the PFA award the crowning piece of a clean sweep of English football's three major individual honors.

"Ridiculous," declared celebrity Arsenal supporter Piers Morgan in response to Fernandes lifting the famously oversized PFA trophy in London, insisting that Rice "should have won this."

Rice, instrumental in Arsenal's first Premier League title in 22 years, had once again been regarded as Fernandes's primary rival. For what it's worth, he did earn a spot in the PFA Team of the Year alongside four Arsenal teammates—tellingly all defensive players, highlighting how the Gunners secured their triumph: William Saliba, Gabriel, Jurriën Timber and goalkeeper David Raya.

The England midfielder also drew praise for his conduct at the ceremony when Fernandes was announced as the winner, clapping with noticeably more enthusiasm than his Arsenal colleagues seated nearby. Fernandes, barred from voting for himself, opted against any tactical maneuvering and may well have cast his ballot for Rice. "I won't say who it was but I voted for [an] Arsenal player," he disclosed during his on-stage interview.

Fernandes's victory came as little surprise given his prior FWA and Premier League accolades. The treble of individual awards has become fairly routine in the 21st century—compared to frequent PFA and FWA disagreements in the previous century—and it has now occurred four consecutive years.

Winning the PFA award requires genuine respect from fellow players. "There could be a player who you know is good but players can't stand, so you don't [vote for him] because you wouldn't want him to get the plaudits," an anonymous Premier League player told The Athletic in 2021. Equally, there can be no anti-Rice bias from voting players given how the other awards unfolded.

The Best Player Isn't Always in the Best Team

The 45th winner of the men's PFA Players' Player of the Year.

Bruno Fernandes, @ManUtd 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/f0P4Tv4sgB

Rice's primary case for the award rested on being the driving force and frequent captain of Arsenal's title-winning side. He delivered a superb campaign. But Fernandes was simply superior, regardless of his Manchester United side finishing third. The finest individual performer is not always found in the finest team, and the PFA award along with others will typically reflect that when it applies.

There was no disputing that Mohamed Salah merited his awards in 2024–25, or Phil Foden in 2023–24, or Erling Haaland in 2022–23. It happened that all three were also members of title-winning squads. But Salah was a deserving winner in 2021–22 when Liverpool did not end the season as champions. The same applied in 2017–18 when the Egyptian claimed his first PFA, FWA and Premier League awards, with Liverpool finishing a distant fourth.

Neither the PFA nor FWA awards went to a league champion for five straight seasons from 2009–10 through 2013–14. Thierry Henry claimed both in 2002–03 when he accomplished what Fernandes did in 2025–26: establishing a new single-season assist record without lifting the league title. When Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne equalled that record in 2019–20, he took home the PFA award rather than anyone from a historic Liverpool side that accumulated 99 points.

In 1998–99, the season of Manchester United's treble, David Ginola was voted the best player by his peers in the PFA and by journalists in the FWA. The Frenchman dazzled like nobody else in the division and it mattered little that his Tottenham Hotspur side finished 11th.

Rice's reward for last season was the Premier League trophy and a permanent place in Arsenal's history. But Fernandes was the finest and most impactful player throughout the campaign and is receiving the recognition he has earned.

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PFA Players' Player of the Year Winners Who Didn't Also Win Premier League Title