New Delhi, May 23 (H.S.): Manchester United star midfielder Bruno Fernandes has been named the Premier League Player of the Season for the 2025–26 campaign. The Portuguese international has won the prestigious award for the first time in his career.

Fernandes delivered an outstanding performance throughout the season and played a pivotal role in helping Manchester United secure a return to the UEFA Champions League. In 37 league appearances, he scored eight goals and provided 20 assists, directly contributing to 28 goals as United finished third in the league standings.

His 20th assist of the season came during Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest, when he set up Bryan Mbeumo for a goal. With that assist, Fernandes equalled the Premier League record for the most assists in a single season. He now shares the record alongside legendary players such as Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

Manchester United endured a difficult start to the season. Under then-manager Ruben Amorim, Fernandes was often deployed in a deeper midfield role, which reduced his attacking influence on the game.

However, after a series of disappointing results, the club replaced Amorim with interim manager Michael Carrick. One of Carrick’s first decisions was to restore Fernandes to his preferred number-10 role, a move that transformed the midfielder’s performances and allowed him to regain top form consistently.

### Fernandes Breaks David Beckham’s Record

By registering 20 assists this season, Bruno Fernandes also surpassed a long-standing Manchester United record held by club legend David Beckham, who had recorded 15 assists during the 1999–2000 season.

Fernandes created a remarkable 132 goal-scoring opportunities during the campaign — 43 more than Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.

Speaking after winning the award, Fernandes said in an official statement:

> “I am extremely happy with this achievement and with the team’s success. This has been my best season in the Premier League so far. There is still one match remaining, and I will try to improve this record even further.”

Bruno Fernandes was also recently named the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year. He became the first Manchester United player since Wayne Rooney in 2010 to receive that honour.

Additionally, Fernandes is the first Manchester United player since Nemanja Vidić in 2011 to win the Premier League Player of the Season award.

In the race for the honour, Fernandes finished ahead of several top performers, including Declan Rice, Gabriel, David Raya, Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, Igor Thiago, and Morgan Gibbs-White.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar