Bruno Fernandes Secures Historic FWA Footballer of the Year Award.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been named the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year for the 2025–26 season.

By Stretford Brief · May 21, 2026 · 8 min read

The wait is finally over. For the first time in 16 years, a Manchester United player has been crowned the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year.
Our captain, leader, and talisman, Bruno Fernandes, officially collected the prestigious award at the FWA’s annual dinner in London. In a fitting poetic touch, the trophy was presented to him by the man who helped unlock his finest form yet: United manager Michael Carrick.
Not since Wayne Rooney’s blistering 2009/10 campaign has Old Trafford boasted the FWA’s top individual prize. Bruno’s triumph ends a generational drought, reminding the rest of English football exactly where the game’s elite creative force resides.

Edge-of-the-Seat Voting

This wasn’t a runaway victory; it was a hard-fought battle that reflected a relentless Premier League campaign. Fernandes secured 45% of the total vote from over 900 football journalists, narrowly edging out Arsenal’s Declan Rice by a razor-thin margin of just 28 votes. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland finished a distant third.

While rival fanbases will inevitably debate the margin, the tape don’t lie. Bruno has put the weight of this football club on his shoulders and carried us back to where we belong.

The Carrick Evolution: By The Numbers

To understand why Bruno took home the silverware, you only have to look at how Michael Carrick revolutionized our shape. By restoring the Portuguese magnifico to his preferred role in the traditional “second line” of the attack, Carrick gave Bruno the freedom to dictate entire football matches.
The resulting statistical output is nothing short of staggering:
120: The number of goal-scoring opportunities Bruno created this season. To put that into perspective, his closest Premier League rival (Dominic Solanke) managed just 65. Bruno didn’t just lead the creative charts; he entirely broke them.
27 Goal Contributions: With 8 goals and 19 assists in league play, he has been the focal point of everything positive in United’s attacking transition.
Chasing Royalty: Sitting on 19 assists, Bruno enters the final stretch of the campaign just one assist away from matching the all-time Premier League single-season record (20), currently shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

The Brief Take:

For years, critics labeled Bruno a “volume passer” or a “moments player.” This season, he proved he is the ultimate orchestrator. He has captained this side with fire, transition-defying work rate, and unparalleled vision.
Securing a return to the Champions League was the objective; this individual accolade for our skipper is the validation of the progress being made under the Carrick era.
Congratulations, Bruno. Thoroughly deserved.