Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been crowned the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Men’s Players’ Player of the Year for 2026, capping a standout campaign that has seen him named the standout performer in English football by his fellow professionals.
The Portuguese playmaker picked up the prestigious honour at the PFA Awards ceremony held at the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, joining an elite list of past winners that includes countryman Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the award twice, in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Fernandes’ win adds his name to a roll of honour that dates back to the 1973-74 season, when Leeds United’s Norman Hunter became the award’s inaugural recipient.
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Since then, the trophy has been lifted by some of the Premier League’s biggest names, including Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Gareth Bale, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
Mohamed Salah remains the award’s most decorated winner, having claimed it a record three times, most recently in 2025, before Fernandes ended his reign this year.
The ceremony was also a big night for Manchester City, whose Nico O’Reilly was named Men’s Young Player of the Year, while the club’s Khadija “Bunny” Shaw took home the Women’s Players’ Player of the Year award. Arsenal’s Olivia Smith was named Women’s Young Player of the Year.
Elsewhere, football royalty was honoured as former Liverpool manager Sir Kenny Dalglish and ex-England international Karen Carney OBE both received PFA Merit Awards in recognition of their contributions to the game.
The PFA also confirmed its Players of the Year across the EFL divisions: Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney took the Championship prize, Leyton Orient’s Dom Ballard won in League One, and Swindon Town’s Aaron Drinan was honoured in League Two.
Premier League Team of the Year: David Raya; Gabriel Magalhães, Nico O’Reilly, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber; Bruno Fernandes, Declan Rice, Rayan Cherki; Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, Igor Thiago.
Championship Team of the Year: Carl Rushworth; Milan van Ewijk, Bobby Thomas, Tom Crama, Taylor Harwood-Bellis; Hayden Hackney, Matt Grimes, Jack Rudoni; Žan Vipotnik, Haji Wright, Femi Azeez.
League One Team of the Year: George Wickens; Sonny Bradley, Tendayi Darikwa, Perry Ng, Carl Piergianni; Oliver Norwood, Lewis Wing, Jack Moylan; Dom Ballard, Kyle Wootton, Amario Cozier-Duberry.
League Two Team of the Year: Max Hudson; Omar Sowunmi, K. Watts, J. Sanders, J. Gibbons; Alex Gilbey, Mike Pinnock, Sammy Braybrooke; Aaron Drinan, Macauley Cheek, C. Paterson.
