Bruno Fernandes and Declan Rice are among six players shortlisted for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award at the PFA Awards 2026, with the winner to be decided by fellow professionals rather than by media vote. It is a neat snapshot of the season’s best performers, and Fernandes arrives with the kind of individual numbers that make him hard to ignore.
The Manchester United captain has already collected both the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award and the Premier League Player of the Season award, and he enters the PFA race after posting 21 Premier League assists and nine league goals. Rice, meanwhile, is included after a season tied to Arsenal’s Premier League title win following a 22-year wait.
Why Fernandes stands out
Fernandes’ case is straightforward. Twenty-one assists is a major return in any season, and when that is paired with nine league goals, it explains why he has been so central to Manchester United. The award is voted for by players, which matters because it tends to reward the players who have consistently influenced matches from week to week.
That is what makes the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award different. It is not a media-led verdict or a popularity contest. It is a peer vote, and that gives the shortlist a particular weight because it reflects how players themselves judge the season’s standouts.
Rice and the wider shortlist
Rice’s inclusion adds another layer to the discussion. His season was linked to Arsenal’s title success, and that places him in a different kind of spotlight to the individual attackers on the list. For midfield players in particular, influence is often measured not just by goals or assists, but by control, reliability and how much a team trusts them in decisive moments.
The six-man shortlist also underlines how strongly Manchester City remain represented in awards conversations, while the broader group gives the PFA a familiar balance of attacking quality and all-round consistency. It is the sort of shortlist that reflects both the headline-makers and the players whose value is felt across an entire campaign.
What happens next
The winners are due to be honoured at the Manchester Opera House on August 25, bringing the season’s individual awards cycle to its formal close. With six players in contention, and with the vote coming from the players themselves, the result will say as much about professional respect as it does about statistics.
For Fernandes, the numbers give him a strong platform. For Rice, the team context strengthens his case. And for the PFA Awards 2026, the shortlist offers a clear reminder that the players’ view of a season does not always mirror every other award race.
