Erling Haaland Leads Pfa Player Of The Year 2026 Race After 38 Goals
Erling Haaland is the strongest case for the pfa player of the year 2026 after his 38th goal of the season helped Manchester City rescue a 1-1 draw against AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 19. Arsenal had already won the Premier League title by then, but the award race still points toward Haaland because of the scale of his scoring.
Haaland’s 38-goal mark
“Who is going to be the PFA Player of the Year for the 2025/26 season?” Haaland asked before the discussion turned back to his own season. The answer inside the argument is obvious enough: he equalised against Bournemouth and pushed his total to 38 goals.
That goal line sits on top of a season that has again separated him from the field. He has 27 goals in 35 Premier League matches and nine assists, numbers that give him a case built on output rather than reputation alone.
Haaland also has a record of delivering at this level for City. He won the award in the 2022/23 season, when he scored 52 goals, and his total for the club now stands at 162 goals in 198 matches. His lowest single-season return has still been 34 goals.
Arsenal’s title winners
The pressure on the race comes from elsewhere, too. Gabriel, Declan Rice and David Raya were all named as Arsenal players who should be in the reckoning after the club wrapped up the Premier League title following City’s draw with Bournemouth.
Bruno Fernandes also entered the conversation with 20 assists in the Premier League this season. That gives the award debate more than one lane, but Haaland’s scoring rate still separates him from the rest of the names in play.
Manchester City’s final stretch
City were scheduled to end their season against Aston Villa on Sunday, May 24, with Haaland carrying the weight of a 38-goal campaign into that last match. “However, it is Erling Haaland who probably deserves to win the PFA Player of the Year title the most.”
“Haaland should be the frontrunner to win the award.” That is where the race sits after Bournemouth, with one elite scorer holding the clearest statistical edge and Arsenal’s title-winning trio waiting as the main challenge.
