The English football season ended with big rewards for the best players in the country. Manchester United team captain Bruno Fernandes and Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw won the top honors. They received the PFA Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards for 2026. Both stars worked very hard and gave their best efforts every week.
PFA Awards Quick Summary
- Bruno Fernandes won the Men’s PFA Player of the Year award after setting a new Premier League record with 21 assists.
- Khadija Shaw won her second Women’s PFA Player of the Year award after scoring 21 goals and winning the WSL title with Manchester City.
- Nico O’Reilly and Olivia Smith won the Young Player of the Year awards in their respective categories.
Bruno Fernandes had a special season with Manchester United even though his team did not win a trophy. He set a new Premier League record by giving 21 assists in a single season. This broke the old record of 20 assists held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. Fernandes set up the first goal on the last day against Brighton and also scored a goal himself.
In total, the 31-year-old Portuguese midfielder scored nine goals and made 22 assists in 37 games across all competitions. He helped Manchester United finish third in the table and secure a place in the Champions League. He beat other great nominees like Erling Haaland and Declan Rice to claim the trophy.
“I’m very proud of this”
Fernandes became the first Manchester United player to win the award since Wayne Rooney in 2010. He is also just the second Portuguese star to earn the prize after Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo won the award back in 2007 and 2008.
For the women, Khadija Shaw was the star performer once again for Manchester City. The 29-year-old forward scored 21 goals in only 22 league matches. Her goals helped City win their second Women’s Super League title. She also won her third Golden Boot in a row, which no other player has ever done before.
Shaw scored hat-tricks against Aston Villa and Tottenham during the strong campaign. She also scored two key goals against West Ham on the final day. In addition, Shaw scored five goals in the FA Cup, including the opening goal in the final to lift another trophy with Manchester City.
“Truly honoured”
Shaw joins Lucy Bronze and Fran Kirby as one of the few players to win multiple PFA women’s player of the year awards. She had previously won both the PFA and FWA double after the 2023-24 season. She beat top shortlisted players like Lauren James and Alessia Russo to win this year’s award.
Young players were also celebrated at the event for their great performances. Manchester City defender Nico O’Reilly won the Men’s Young Player of the Year award. The 21-year-old player had eight goal involvements and nine clean sheets in 34 league games. He was also named player of the match in the League Cup final victory over Arsenal.
Arsenal attacker Olivia Smith took home the Women’s Young Player of the Year award. The 22-year-old Canada international scored 10 goals in all competitions after joining Arsenal from Liverpool for £1m. She became only the second player ever to retain this award, following Lauren Hemp.
This year’s PFA Awards showed the wonderful talent present in modern English football. Fans around the world are happy to celebrate the success of these hard-working stars. Everyone is looking forward to seeing how these players perform in the upcoming football season.
