manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes and manchester City striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw were named the PFA Men’s and Women’s Players’ Player of the Year respectively at the Professional Footballers’ Association awards on 25 August 2026, voted for by their fellow professionals.
- Bruno Fernandes won the PFA Men’s Player of the Year on 25 August 2026 after setting a new premier League assists record with 21 assists.
- Khadija Shaw won the PFA Women’s Player of the Year for the second time, scoring 21 league goals and claiming her third consecutive WSL Golden Boot as City won the title.
- Nico O’Reilly (men’s) and Olivia Smith (women’s) were named PFA Young Players of the Year; Arsenal and City had heavy representation in the Teams of the Year.
- The PFA awards reflect peer voting and underscore Fernandes’ and Shaw’s pivotal roles for their clubs going into 2026–27.
What the awards recognise
The PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards are chosen by members of the players’ union and reflect peer recognition across the men’s and women’s professional game. This year’s winners were singled out for outstanding contributions during the 2025–26 season: Fernandes for creating a Premier League assist record and Shaw for a prolific goalscoring run that helped manchester City win the Women’s Super League.
Fernandes: record assists and a United revival
Bruno Fernandes received the men’s prize after a season in which he set a new Premier League assists record with 21 league assists, surpassing Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, and scored nine goals, according to The Guardian and supporting coverage. His form underpinned Manchester United’s recovery: despite a difficult opening half of the campaign, United finished third and secured a return to the Champions League under Michael Carrick.
The PFA award adds to Fernandes’ other individual honours from the same campaign: The Guardian and related reporting note he had already won the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award in May 2026.
Why this matters for Manchester United
- Peer recognition for Fernandes highlights his central role in United’s push back into the Champions League.
- Fernandes is United’s first PFA Players’ Player of the Year since Wayne Rooney in 2009–10, as reported by The Guardian.
- Winning an award voted by opponents can boost a player’s standing inside the squad and with supporters; it may also shape conversations about United’s planning and retained core for the coming season.
Shaw: WSL Golden Boot and title-winning form
Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw was named the PFA Women’s Player of the Year for the second time, having previously won the award in 2023–24. Reporting by The Guardian and ESPN records Shaw scored 21 league goals en route to her third consecutive WSL Golden Boot and helped City to a WSL title.
City supplied three players to the PFA WSL Team of the Year, with Shaw joined by Kerstin Casparij and Yui Hasegawa, underscoring the club’s domestic dominance in the women’s game in 2025–26.
Implications for the WSL and City
- Shaw’s second PFA women’s player award cements her status as one of the WSL’s leading forwards; press coverage also links her winners’ form to City’s title and FA Cup success that season.
- City’s representation in the Team of the Year reflects squad depth and the impact of key performers across competitions.
Young player awards and Teams of the Year
The PFA Young Player of the Year honours went to Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly (men’s) and Arsenal’s Olivia Smith (women’s). O’Reilly — a 21-year-old whose season included contributions to Manchester City and England — was named in the Premier League Team of the Year alongside City colleagues Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo, according to The Guardian. Olivia Smith picked up the women’s Young Player prize for the second consecutive year after winning in 2025.
The PFA Men’s Team of the Year featured five Arsenal players — reflecting their Premier League title — along with Fernandes and Brentford’s Igor Thiago, per The Guardian’s coverage. The PFA WSL Team of the Year mixed City and Arsenal representation and included players from Tottenham and Chelsea as well.
Other award winners and honours
Across the Football League, Hayden Hackney was named Championship Players’ Player of the Year for his performances with Middlesbrough, Dom Ballard took the League One accolade after his season with Leyton Orient, and Aaron Drinan won the League Two award for Swindon, as reported in The Guardian. In the women’s second tier, Lily Crosthwaite of Birmingham received the WSL2 player award.
The PFA presented merit awards to Sir Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney in recognition of their long contributions to football; The Guardian noted Dalglish’s playing and managerial successes and referenced his June announcement about undergoing cancer treatment.
Shortlist context and competition
Shortlist reporting earlier in June showed the strength of contenders: Arsenal trio Declan Rice, David Raya and Gabriel Magalhães were among the men’s nominees alongside Fernandes and two Manchester City players, Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki. The women’s shortlist included Shaw, Chelsea’s Lauren James, Arsenal’s Alessia Russo, Manchester United’s Jess Park, Aston Villa’s Kirsty Hanson and City’s Yui Hasegawa, according to Sky Sports and regional coverage.
What comes next
For Fernandes and Shaw, the PFA awards are a high-profile endorsement from the professional community and will reinforce their roles as leaders for their clubs this season. For United and City, those honours underline the value of retaining and building around proven match-winners as domestic and European campaigns progress.
At the league level, the awards keep attention on the Premier League and WSL narratives coming into the 2026–27 season: Arsenal’s title-winning core featured heavily in the teams of the year, Manchester United’s revival and creative output from Fernandes are recognised, and Manchester City’s sustained investment in the women’s team continues to yield top-end talent.
“It is obviously a very proud moment,” Fernandes said after being voted winner by his peers, as reported by The Guardian.
G3.Football will track how both clubs and the individual winners shape their seasons after this peer recognition, including squad planning, contract decisions referenced in related reporting, and their roles in domestic and European competitions.