The PFA Awards 2026 delivered one of the biggest individual nights of the English football calendar, with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes named the Men’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year after a remarkable 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
For football fans in Kenya, where Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City command enormous followings, the results provide plenty of debate. Fernandes claimed the biggest prize; Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly took the Young Player award, while Premier League champions Arsenal dominated the PFA Team of the Year with five selections.
Bruno Fernandes Wins PFA Player of the Year 2026
Bruno Fernandes was officially crowned the 2026 PFA Players’ Player of the Year, an award with special prestige because fellow professional footballers select the winner.
According to the PFA’s official 2026 Premier League winners announcement, Fernandes finished ahead of an elite six-player shortlist featuring Declan Rice, David Raya, Gabriel Magalhães, Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki.
Fernandes’ victory was built on an extraordinary individual campaign. The Portuguese midfielder produced 21 Premier League assists, breaking the previous single-season record of 20 associated with Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. He also scored nine league goals.
The award adds another major honor to his outstanding season after he had already claimed the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season accolades.
For United supporters in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and across Kenya, it is another reason to celebrate one of the club’s most influential modern-era players.
Fernandes Beats Declan Rice in a Fascinating Awards Race
One of the most intriguing stories heading into the ceremony was the battle between Fernandes and Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice.
The Heavy Sports PFA Awards 2026 preview highlighted their contrasting cases. Fernandes had the extraordinary individual numbers, while Rice was a central figure as Arsenal ended their 22-year wait for the Premier League title.
Rice appeared in 36 of Arsenal’s 38 league matches and was crucial to the champions through his defensive work, ball progression and attacking contribution.
Yet when Premier League professionals cast their votes, Fernandes emerged on top.
That distinction makes the PFA award particularly significant: this was recognition not simply from supporters, journalists, or pundits, but from the players who competed against him.
Manchester United Celebrate Their Captain
Manchester United understandably celebrated their captain’s achievement.
The club’s coverage of Bruno Fernandes winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year adds the honor to a growing collection of individual recognition for the Portuguese playmaker. United’s official player profile also notes that Fernandes broke the long-standing Premier League assist record during the 2025/26 campaign.
It was particularly significant given Manchester United’s history with the award. Fernandes became the club’s first PFA Players’ Player of the Year winner since Wayne Rooney in 2010.
Nico O’Reilly Named PFA Young Player of the Year
Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly collected the Men’s PFA Young Player of the Year 2026 award after establishing himself as one of English football’s brightest emerging talents.
The 21-year-old beat a shortlist containing the following:
- Rayan Cherki – Manchester City
- Max Dowman – Arsenal
- Junior Kroupi – Bournemouth
- Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United
- Rio Ngumoha – Liverpool
- Nico O’Reilly – Manchester City
O’Reilly recorded eight Premier League goal involvements across 34 appearances while also contributing to nine clean sheets. His breakthrough campaign included an influential role in City’s League Cup success. The BBC Sport report on the PFA Awards 2026 provides further coverage of O’Reilly’s rise alongside Fernandes’ record-breaking campaign.
His selection in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year completed a memorable double.
PFA Premier League Team of the Year 2026
Arsenal’s title-winning season was strongly reflected in the PFA’s best XI, with five Gunners selected.
The official PFA Premier League Team of the Year 2026 was the following:
Goalkeeper: David Raya (Arsenal)
Defenders: Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), William Saliba (Arsenal), Jurriën Timber (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)
Forwards: Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City), Igor Thiago (Brentford)
Arsenal Dominate the Best XI
Arsenal supplied almost half of the team.
David Raya, Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, Jurriën Timber and Declan Rice were all recognized by their fellow professionals, illustrating just how important Arsenal’s defensive strength and midfield control were to their championship campaign.
Manchester City followed with four representatives: O’Reilly, Cherki, Haaland and Antoine Semenyo.
That left only two places outside Arsenal and City: Fernandes representing Manchester United and Igor Thiago representing Brentford.
Haaland Makes the Team After Another Huge Scoring Season
Unsurprisingly, Erling Haaland retained his place among the Premier League’s elite performers.
The Manchester City striker finished the campaign with 27 league goals from 35 appearances, securing the Premier League Golden Boot.
Yet even that scoring output could not carry him past Fernandes in the Player of the Year voting—an indication of just how highly Premier League players rated the United captain’s creativity and overall influence.
What the PFA Awards Mean for Kenyan Premier League Fans
The Premier League remains one of the most passionately followed football competitions in Kenya, and the 2026 PFA results give supporters another talking point as the new season gets underway.
Arsenal fans can point towards their club’s five Team of the Year representatives as evidence of a brilliant championship campaign. Manchester City supporters have Haaland, Cherki, Semenyo and Young Player of the Year O’Reilly to celebrate.
Manchester United supporters, meanwhile, have the night’s biggest individual prize.
That’s what makes the PFA Awards 2026 particularly interesting: the honors capture both collective excellence and individual brilliance. Arsenal were the dominant team, but Fernandes was the individual footballer judged to be the outstanding player.
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Final Verdict: Fernandes Gets the Recognition His Season Deserved
The PFA Awards 2026 ultimately belonged to Bruno Fernandes.
Twenty-one Premier League assists, nine league goals and consistent creative influence produced a season his fellow professionals considered worthy of English football’s premier player-voted individual honor.
But the awards also told the season’s wider story. Arsenal’s five representatives underlined their championship success, Manchester City’s four selections demonstrated the depth of talent at the Etihad, and Nico O’Reilly’s Young Player award announced another major prospect.
For Kenyan Premier League fans, the debate will inevitably continue: Rice or Fernandes? Arsenal’s collective dominance or Bruno’s individual brilliance?
The players have already delivered their verdict.
Bruno Fernandes is the 2026 PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
