The Football Writers’ Association has named Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes as its 2026 Footballer of the Year, the report says, with Fernandes narrowly beating Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice in the voting. Per the report, Fernandes secured 45 percent of the votes from the English football media and finished 28 votes clear of Rice, becoming the first United player to win the award since Wayne Rooney in 2010.
The report says Manchester City forward Erling Haaland — a previous winner in 2023 — finished third in the voting. Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, winger Bukayo Saka and defender Gabriel Magalhães also registered a significant number of votes, while no other Manchester United player received a vote in the poll, per the report.
Per the report, the Portugal international is 31 years old and heads into United’s final three Premier League matches needing one assist to equal the league’s all-time single-season assists record of 20, a mark jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. The report adds that Fernandes has scored eight league goals this season and has been credited as United’s inspiration as the club recovered from the January dismissal of former head coach Ruben Amorim to secure Champions League qualification under Michael Carrick.
The award’s history was noted in the report, which says the FWA Footballer of the Year dates back to 1948, when Sir Stanley Matthews was the inaugural winner. The vote aims to recognise the player who, “by precept and example is considered to be the footballer of the year,” per the report. Fernandes becomes the tenth Manchester United recipient, joining past Old Trafford winners such as Bobby Charlton, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo, and moving United into second on the all-time list behind Liverpool.
The report also says Manchester City forward Bunny Shaw won the women’s Footballer of the Year award in a landslide after scoring 19 goals in City’s WSL title win. Jamaica international Shaw, who the report says is expected to leave City when her contract expires this summer, picked up the honour for a second time after previously winning in 2023.
