Manchester United’s captain, Bruno Fernandes, is among six players nominated for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award.
The 30-year-old is accompanied by Liverpool’s star Mohamed Salah, his Argentine colleague Alexis Mac Allister, influential Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer, Arsenal’s box-to-box midfielder Declan Rice, and Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, who was the runner-up to Salah in the Premier League Golden Boot competition after scoring 23 goals.
The nominations are made by fellow professionals, and this award is widely considered the most prestigious individual accolade in the Premier League.
Over the past five seasons, the award has been claimed by players from Manchester City, with Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, and Kevin De Bruyne (twice) being recognized as the top players in previous years.
However, following a notably disappointing season by their own high standards, City does not have any representation this year—yet Fernandes’ nomination illustrates that a player can still shine even while part of a struggling team.
In fact, Fernandes was one of the few bright spots for a Manchester United team that struggled throughout the season.
The appointment of Ruben Amorim as the club’s manager did not stop a concerning decline in the league standings, but his favored 3-4-2-1 formation continued to highlight the talents of attacking midfielder Fernandes.
The Portugal international netted eight goals and delivered 11 assists, contributing to 43 percent of United’s goal tally.
However, those figures were overshadowed by Salah, who remarkably recorded 47 goal contributions (29 goals and 18 assists), leading Liverpool to the Premier League title during Arne Slot’s inaugural season as manager.
Mac Allister’s influence may not be fully reflected in conventional statistics, yet the elegant midfielder orchestrated several matches for Liverpool in tandem with Ryan Gravenberch, consistently providing moments of high quality with apparent ease.
Palmer’s second season at Chelsea did not reach the heights of his debut year, but he still played a significant role in the events at Stamford Bridge, helping the Blues secure a top-four finish to qualify for the Champions League.
This is a tournament that Newcastle will also be participating in, largely due to Isak’s prolific scoring, as he has firmly established himself as one of the premier goal-scorers in world football.
Rice was equally commanding in Arsenal’s midfield, delivering one impressive performance after another, which more than justified the £100 million investment made when he was acquired from West Ham United in the summer of 2023.