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Bruno Fernandes and Bunny Shaw land PFA Players’ Player of the Year honours after record-breaking Premier League and WSL seasons TNT Sports on GoogleReact to this story Bruno Fernandes has been named the Men’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year after the Manchester United talisman broke Thierry Henry’s long-standing assist record in the Premier League last season, while Bunny Shaw scooped the women's award after firing Manchester City to their first WSL title in a decade. Henry’s record of 20 assists in a single league campaign was unmatched for 23 years before Fernandes surpassed it in May, setting up Patrick Dorgu on the final day of the season for his 21st. The Portugal international also netted nine goals to help return UEFA Champions League football to Old Trafford via his club’s third-place finish. Fernandes adds the gong to his extensive list of 2025/26 individual accolades, which include the FWA Footballer of the Year, Premier League Player of the Season and Manchester United Players’ Player of the Year. It breaks a run of eight straight seasons in which a player from either City or Liverpool was awarded the honour, and Fernandes has become the first United player since Wayne Rooney in 2009/10 to be given the title. "Honestly, it means a lot," said Fernandes. "Voted by the players, the ones I step onto the pitch to play against every weekend, so there is a different meaning to the other [awards] I have got. "So, proud of this one, and it is a very grateful moment for me. To be the one chosen by many of them, [I am] very grateful, and I think… it makes the award very special for me." Fernandes added: "My dream was not to become a professional footballer, but was to play football for life. "To do this, to have the opportunity to play for so many professional clubs, for my national team, to being included with the best in these types of awards, it is something I would never have imagined. "I want to win with my team more than for myself with these kinds of trophies. I hope to also help some of my team-mates next season be able to be here, and maybe one of them getting this trophy in his hands. "Winning as a team, winning as a national team, that’s the dream." While rumours have linked The Red Devils captain to a move away from Manchester this summer, his club are reportedly set to reject any offer that comes in. Despite the speculation, the 31-year-old played the full 90 minutes as newly-promoted Hull City stunned the 20-time league champions 2-0 on the opening weekend of the new season. In the Men’s PFA Young Player of the Year category, Nico O’Reilly was recognised for his standout contribution to Manchester City’s ultimately unsuccessful title challenge. The 21-year-old played all but four league matches as Pep Guardiola employed him in a variety of positions, primarily at left-back, but also in central midfield and on the left wing. O’Reilly scored five goals, and provided three assists, in the Premier League, and the City academy graduate also netted both goals in his side’s Carabao Cup final victory over Arsenal. Thomas Tuchel rewarded the youngster with a spot in his England squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and he started five games in The Three Lions’ run to the semi-final. Shaw and Smith pick up WSL honours The Women’s PFA Player of the Year went to 2023/24 winner Bunny Shaw for her outstanding role in Manchester City’s first Barclays Women’s Super League title for a decade. Shaw, like Fernandes, ripped up the record books in her devastating 21-goal campaign, at the end of which she claimed a third consecutive Golden Boot. She moved clear of both Sam Kerr and Vivianne Miedema in top-scorer titles, helped by an unprecedented 13-minute hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur. But the 29-year-old even managed a quartet of strikes in a single match, becoming the first women’s player to net 100 goals for City. The centre-forward still needs another 17 league goals to hit a century of WSL strikes, a feat yet to be achieved by anybody, though City colleague Miedema is closing in on 97. Meanwhile, Olivia Smith was awarded the Women’s PFA Young Player of the Year for the second year running following her world-record transfer to Arsenal. The former Liverpool forward moved to The Gunners as the most expensive signing in the history of the women’s game, becoming the first female £1 million player in the process. Smith, 22, settled in admirably at her new club, scoring on her debut and notching eight goals across all competitions in 2025/26. PFA team of the year The PFA Premier League Team of the Year included five Arsenal players, with David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice earning a place. Manchester City had four players included: Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki, Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo. Manchester United’s Fernandes got the nod, as did Brentford’s Igor Thiago. With Arsenal winning the league, it was no surprise that they had the most players selected, likewise the City contingent who ran The Gunners close. The PFA Women’s Super League Team of the Year was a slightly more mixed affair, with five teams seeing players selected. Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton, Ellie Carpenter and Lauren James got the nod, as did Manchester City’s Shaw, Kerstin Casparij and Yui Hasegawa. Alessia Russo, Emily Fox and Mariona Caldentey for Arsenal were included, as was Toko Koga for Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United’s Jessica Park completed the line-up. 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