Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was named Premier League Player of the Year by England’s Football Writers’ Association. Khadija Shaw took the top spot in the women’s category.
Although Manchester United wasn’t really in the running for the championship this season, it’s all the more impressive that Bruno Fernandes was voted best player by the Football Writers’ Association. He is the first Manchester United player to achieve this since Wayne Rooney in 2010.
The Portuguese player has eight goals and 19 (!) assists to his name this season, putting him in a class of his own. If Bruno Fernandes manages at least two more assists in the remaining three Premier League games, he would break the record of 20 assists in a Premier League season—Kevin De Bruyne (2019/20) and Thierry Henry (2002/3) are the current record holders.
Rice and Haaland come up empty-handed
With 45 percent of the votes from the more than 900 members of the “Football Writers’ Association,” Bruno Fernandes won the race—beating out notable competitors: Arsenal’s Declan Rice received 28 fewer votes, while Erling Haaland of city rivals City came in third.
Although the Red Devils will finish the season without a trophy for the second year in a row, they have stabilized since interim manager Michael Carrick took over and have all but secured Champions League qualification.
Shaw Wins Award for the Second Time
On the women’s side, Khadija Shaw took the title, having led Manchester City to their first WSL title in ten years with 19 goals in 21 games so far. There was no debate here: Shaw won the vote by a clear margin ahead of last year’s winner, Alessia Russo (Arsenal), and Lauren James of Chelsea.
This is the second award for the Jamaican; Shaw was already named Player of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association in 2023/24. With one game remaining, the striker is on track to become the Women’s Super League’s top scorer for the third consecutive season.