Bruno Fernandes and Khadija Shaw land PFA Player of the Year awards
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been named Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year, with fellow professionals voting him the winner after a record-breaking 2025-26 season. Manchester City's Khadija Shaw claimed the women's award for the second time, while Arsenal's Olivia Smith and City's Nico O'Reilly took the young players' honours. The awards recognise United's first men's winner since Wayne Rooney in 2009-10 and add to Fernandes's Football Writers' Association prize from May.
Fernandes, 31, set a Premier League assists record with 21 and scored nine goals as United recovered from a shaky start to finish third under Michael Carrick and secure Champions League football. Shaw, 29, scored 21 goals to win a third consecutive Golden Boot and her first WSL title. Champions Arsenal supplied five players to the men's Team of the Year, while City's WSL treble-winners dominated the women's XI; Sir Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney also received PFA merit awards, with Dalglish continuing his cancer treatment.
- Bruno Fernandes named PFA Player of the Year after fellow pros vote
- Khadija Shaw wins women's award for second time with 21 goals
- Olivia Smith and Nico O'Reilly claim young players' honours
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Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes and Manchester City's Khadija Shaw have both been named Player of the Year by the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), the union that represents footballers in England. The awards, one for the men's game and one for the women's, are decided by a vote among fellow professional players rather than pundits or fans, which is part of what makes them highly regarded within the sport.
Fernandes is United's on-field captain and a Portuguese midfielder known for creating goals as much as scoring them, while Shaw is a Jamaican striker who has been the WSL's most prolific goalscorer in recent seasons. Winning this award recognises a standout individual season, and for United in particular it is notable because a men's player from the club had not won it since Wayne Rooney in 2009-10.
The PFA also hands out several related honours alongside the main awards, including Young Player of the Year prizes and a Team of the Year made up of the season's best performers, plus occasional merit awards for long-standing contributions to the game. These awards are separate from, but often mentioned alongside, other end-of-season prizes such as the Football Writers' Association's own Player of the Year.
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