Bruno Fernandes wins Premier League POTY

Bruno Fernandes was confirmed as the Premier League’s 2025-26 Player of the Season on Sunday after a year in which Manchester United’s captain became the competition’s dominant creator. The official Premier League website said Fernandes won the EA SPORTS award after producing 20 assists in 34 league appearances, alongside eight goals. Sky Sports and Manchester United also reported the award on Sunday. United’s final league position, and with it Champions League qualification for next season, was set to be confirmed on the last day of the campaign. ### How unusual was Fernandes’ season by Premier League standards? The number that defines Fernandes’ season is 20. That total matched the Premier League single-season assist record previously shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, according to Sky Sports and Manchester United. The Premier League’s own analysis described Fernandes as having one of the most creative seasons in the competition’s history. The league said he had produced 12 assists in 16 Premier League matches since Michael Carrick took charge at United, a run that helped carry him to the season award. ### What did the league and club say he achieved? (skysports.com) The Premier League said Fernandes won the 2025-26 EA SPORTS Player of the Season award after combining chance creation with output in front of goal. Its player stats page lists him at eight goals, 20 assists and 2,976 minutes in 34 appearances this season. Manchester United’s official website listed the award among its lead stories on Sunday and identified Fernandes as the club captain receiving league-wide recognition at the end of the season. (premierleague.com) The club’s player page also shows the same league totals of eight goals and 20 assists. ### Who did Fernandes beat, and how was the award decided? The Premier League named Fernandes on an eight-player shortlist released last week. (premierleague.com) The other nominees were Arsenal trio Gabriel, David Raya and Declan Rice, Manchester City pair Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo, Brentford striker Igor Thiago and Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White. (manutd.com) The league said the winner was chosen through a combination of public votes and a panel of football experts. Voting closed at 12:00 BST on May 18. ### Why did this season stand out even by Fernandes’ own standards? Sky Sports had already reported earlier this month that Fernandes became the first Manchester United player since Wayne Rooney in 2009-10 to win the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award. (premierleague.com) At that point he had eight goals and 19 assists in the league; the 20th assist came later to draw him level with Henry and De Bruyne. Premier League coverage said Fernandes’ creative output rose another level during the second half of the campaign. That assessment was tied to the numbers rather than sentiment: 20 assists is a league record-equalling total, and his 12 assists in 16 matches under Carrick accounted for more than half of his season tally. ### What does the timing say about Manchester United’s season? (skysports.com) Sunday’s award arrived with United still closing out the league campaign. Sky Sports said Fernandes’ goals and assists helped United reach the Champions League, linking his individual season directly to the club’s push back into Europe’s top competition. (premierleague.com) The final step comes on May 24, when Brighton host Manchester United in the last round of Premier League fixtures. Fernandes enters that match with the season’s main individual award already secured and his assist total level with two of the league’s best-known playmakers. (manutd.com) (skysports.com)