Bruno Fernandes Wins 2025/26 Premier League Player of the Season, Edges Out Declan Rice

Bruno Fernandes has been named the 2025/26 EA SPORTS Premier League Player of the Season, with the Premier League confirming the award on May 23, 2026. The Manchester United captain edged out Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice to claim the individual honour for the first time since joining the club.

The 31-year-old Portuguese midfielder delivered what is widely regarded as the finest Premier League season of his career, registering 8 goals and 20 assists across 37 league appearances — a direct contribution to 28 goals in total. His 132 chances created led the entire division, a figure 43 clear of Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai in second place.

Fernandes reached the 20-assist milestone during Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest, setting up Bryan Mbeumo to equal the Premier League’s single-season assist record, a mark jointly held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry. With one league fixture remaining — away at Aston Villa — Fernandes has the opportunity to break that record outright and stand alone in the competition’s history.

The Portugal international has already rewritten Manchester United’s internal record books this season, surpassing David Beckham’s club record of 15 assists in a single Premier League campaign, set during the 1999/2000 season. His performances have been central to United securing Champions League qualification for the following season.

The Player of the Season accolade adds to a string of individual honours accumulated by Fernandes in 2025/26. Earlier this month, he was named the Football Writers’ Association Men’s Footballer of the Year, becoming the first Manchester United player to receive that distinction since Wayne Rooney in 2010. He also claimed the EA SPORTS Premier League Player of the Month award for March — his sixth such monthly honour overall — drawing level with former United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in that particular category.

The award was announced despite Rice’s own significant contribution to Arsenal’s season. The England midfielder was instrumental as the Gunners claimed their first top-flight league title in 22 years, ending a drought that had stretched back to the 2003/04 Invincibles campaign.

Fernandes joined Manchester United from Sporting CP in January 2020 and has since become the club’s most influential player of the post-Ferguson era, consistently ranking among the Premier League’s top creative forces. His 2025/26 output, however, represents a statistical peak even by his own considerable standards, with the chance-creation figures in particular placing him among the most productive midfielders in the competition’s modern history.