Bruno Fernandes Did Not Win the Premier League—But He Was Still the Best Player

Bruno Fernandes was the best player in the 2025–26 Premier League, according to those who played against the Manchester United captain during the season.

Fernandes was presented with the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award on Tuesday night, in recognition of his performances and achievements on the pitch, which included breaking the Premier League record for assists in a single season that had stood for 23 years.

Unlike other individual prizes where voting is the domain of journalists, fans, sponsors or various expert panels, the PFA winner is chosen by the players themselves. It lends even more authority to the award because it feels hard to argue against the view of those who experienced Fernandes up close last season … but people did.

The same debate that erupted when Fernandes was named FWA Footballer of the Year in early May was resurrected by those who still believed Declan Rice was a more deserving winner. Premier League Player of the Season followed for Fernandes in late May, making the PFA award the final piece of a clean sweep of the big three individual prizes in English soccer.

“Ridiculous,” said celebrity Arsenal fan Piers Morgan in response to Fernandes receiving the famously large PFA trophy in London, adding that Rice “should have won this.”

Rice, for his role in Arsenal’s first Premier League triumph in 22 years, had been considered Fernandes’s main competition once more. For what it’s worth, he did land a place in the PFA Team of Year alongside four Arsenal teammates—notably all defensive to underline how the Gunners triumphed: William Saliba, Gabriel, Jurriën Timber and goalkeeper David Raya.

The England midfielder was also praised for his reaction at the ceremony when Fernandes was announced as the winner, notably applauding with more gusto than his Arsenal teammates seated around the table. Fernandes, not allowed to vote for himself, chose not to partake in underhanded tactics and may have given his to Rice. “I won’t say who it was but I voted for [an] Arsenal player,” he revealed while being interviewed on stage.

That Fernandes won was no great surprise given his earlier FWA and Premier League gongs. The award treble has been relatively common in the 21st century—compared to frequent PFA and FWA disagreement in the 20th century—and it has now happened four years in a row.

To win the PFA award, players must command peer respect. “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. There can equally be no anti-Rice conspiracy from voting players because of how the other awards went.

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
— PFA (@PFA) August 26, 2026

Rice’s main claim to win was as the on-field driving force and frequent captain in Arsenal’s Premier League title. He had an outstanding season. But Fernandes was just better, regardless of his Manchester United team finishing third. The best individual player is not always in the best team and the PFA award and others will usually reflect that should it be the case.

There was no arguing that Mohamed Salah deserved his awards in 2024–25, or Phil Foden in 2023–24, or Erling Haaland in 2022–23. It so happened that all three were also part of title-winning teams. But Salah was a deserved winner in 2021–22 when Liverpool didn’t finish the season as champions. The same was true in 2017–18 when the Egyptian won his first PFA, FWA and Premier League awards, as Liverpool finished a distant fourth.

Neither the PFA nor FWA awards went to a league champion for five years in a row from 2009–10 through to 2013–14. Thierry Henry won both in 2002–03 when he did what Fernandes did in 2025–26: set a new single season assist record but not finish as a league champion. When Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne matched that record in 2019–20, he was the PFA award winner, rather than anyone from a generational Liverpool team that amassed 99 points.

In 1998–99, Manchester United’s treble season, David Ginola was voted the best player by his peers in the PFA and by journalists in the FWA. The Frenchman entertained like no one else in the division and it didn’t really matter his Tottenham Hotspur team finished 11th.

Rice’s prize for last season was the Premier League trophy and a place in Arsenal folklore. But Fernandes was the best and most influential player and is getting the recognition he deserves.

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

Season	Player	Club	League Position
1992–93	Paul McGrath	Aston Villa	2nd
1995–96	Les Ferdinand	Newcastle	2nd
1996–97	Alan Shearer	Newcastle	2nd
1998–99	David Ginola	Tottenham	11th
2001–02	Ruud van Nistelrooy	Man Utd	3rd
2002–03	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	2nd
2005–06	Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	3rd
2009–10	Wayne Rooney	Man Utd	2nd
2010–11	Gareth Bale	Tottenham	5th
2011–12	Robin van Persie	Arsenal	3rd
2012–13	Gareth Bale	Tottenham	5th
2013–14	Luis Suárez	Liverpool	2nd
2017–18	Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	4th
2018–19	Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	2nd
2019–20	Kevin De Bruyne	Man City	2nd
2021–22	Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	2nd
2025–26	Bruno Fernandes	Man Utd	3rd

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