Bruno Fernandes wins Premier League POTY

Bruno Fernandes was named the Premier League’s 2025-26 EA Sports Player of the Season on Saturday, giving the Manchester United captain the award for the first time. The league said Fernandes was voted the standout player of the campaign after a season in which he directly contributed to 28 goals in 37 appearances. Manchester United’s official channels also pushed out club content around the award on May 23, including video celebrating Fernandes’ season. The timing came with one league match still to play. ### How did Fernandes win it? The Premier League said on May 23 that Fernandes had been voted Player of the Season after what it called “sensational form” throughout the campaign. The award is decided by a combination of public votes and a panel of football experts, according to the league’s shortlist announcement. Eight players were nominated for the 2025-26 prize. The Premier League’s shortlist included Fernandes, 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. ### What numbers defined his season? Fernandes has eight goals and a joint-record 20 assists in 37 Premier League appearances so far, according to the Premier League’s award announcement. The league said those 20 assists matched the single-season record. The Premier League’s player stats page lists Fernandes on 20 assists, 8 goals and 2,976 minutes in 34 starts. Manchester United’s squad page also shows him with 20 assists and eight goals in league play, underlining the creative output that drove his case. ### Who else shares that assist mark? Manchester United’s official site said Fernandes had “emulated Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne” by reaching 20 assists in a Premier League season. That places him alongside two of the competition’s best-known creators in the single-season record books. A Premier League feature published on May 22 also highlighted Fernandes’ chance creation and “intentional assists” numbers, presenting his 2025-26 output as one of the league’s most productive creative campaigns. The league did not change the record with the award announcement; it said Fernandes had equaled it. ### What did the league say about United’s season? The Premier League said Fernandes had been “the driving force” in a Manchester United side that secured third place and a UEFA Champions League spot. That team context formed part of the award case as United returned to the top four. Manchester United’s club channels added their own framing on May 23 with celebration posts and video around the award. The social-media push matched the club’s recent emphasis on Fernandes’ 20 assists and his role as captain during the run-in. ### What comes next for Fernandes? Manchester United still have one Premier League match left in the 2025-26 season. Fernandes enters that game on 20 assists, level with the competition’s single-season record, and with the Player of the Season award already confirmed by the league on May 23. The Premier League’s statistics page and Manchester United’s official channels are the next places where any change to Fernandes’ final totals would appear. United have already secured Champions League qualification and third place, according to the league’s award release.