Bruno Fernandes has already won the Premier League Player of the Season and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. Now he wants the PFA Players' Player of the Year too — which would make him the runaway individual story of the 2024/25 season regardless of where Manchester United finished.
The nominations are out. Arsenal lead the pack with three — Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes, and David Raya — backed by the weight of the club's first league title in over 20 years. Fernandes is the counterargument: 21 assists, breaking records set by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, dragging United to third and back into the Champions League almost single-handedly.
The real two-horse race
Gabriel and Raya were excellent. Erling Haaland scored 38 goals across all competitions. Rayan Cherki arrived from Lyon for £30 million and contributed to 25 goals in his debut Premier League season, playing with a freedom that made him one of the most watchable players in the division. All four will get votes.
But this award is almost certainly coming down to Rice or Fernandes.
Rice's case is straightforward: title winner, evolved his game mid-season from an advanced role into a deeper anchor position, and was central to Arsenal grinding out results when it mattered. The trophy cabinet does the talking. Fernandes' case is statistical and human — he carried a squad that, without him, would have been looking at Europa League football.
The complication is timing. Fernandes already has two major individual honours in the bag from this season. The PFA award is voted on by players, and the title triumph — Arsenal's defining achievement — will be fresh in every voter's mind. Rice is the frontrunner, even if Fernandes' numbers arguably make him the most impactful individual.
What it means beyond the trophy
For Arsenal's title odds next season, having Rice, Gabriel, and Raya all recognised at this level matters — it signals a core that's settled, decorated, and in no rush to go anywhere. Fernandes winning a third award, meanwhile, would be the most complete individual season anyone has put together in the Premier League in years.
The players vote. They know what it takes to do what Fernandes did for a struggling United side. But they also know what Rice did to help Arsenal over the line. It's a genuinely hard call — and the right kind of debate for this award to be having.
