Forget the managers’ awards, the journalists’ awards, the fan votes. The PFA Players’ Player of the Year is the one every professional wants on their mantelpiece — because it means the men who share your pitch, your changing room, your battles every single week looked at your season and said: that person was the best. It’s peer review. It’s football’s highest compliment.
The 2025-26 shortlist has just been announced — and with Arsenal winning their first Premier League title in 22 years, Man City defying the chaos around them, and Bruno Fernandes rewriting the record books at Old Trafford, the race is wide open. Here’s your guide to all six contenders
🔥 Frontrunner – Bruno Fernandes
The man who broke English football. Fernandes shattered the Premier League’s single-season assists record with 21 — surpassing the marks set by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne that had stood for decades. He did it, astonishingly, while playing out of position for chunks of the season under Rúben Amorim. He also led the entire league in chances created (136) — a total not seen in any of Europe’s top five leagues since De Bruyne in 2019-20. He’s already won the FWA Footballer of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season. The PFA crown would make it a historic treble.
⚡ Strong Contender – Declan Rice
The engine behind Arsenal’s title charge. Rice was everywhere — breaking up attacks, launching counters, bending free kicks into the top corner. He created 63 chances in the league, third most of any player, and his set-piece delivery has become genuinely elite. The FWA award — where he finished just 28 votes behind Fernandes — shows just how close this race really is. If the voters want to honour the title-winning team as much as an individual, Rice is the man.
👀 Proven Winner – Erling Haaland
The machine never stops. Haaland claimed his third Premier League Golden Boot in four seasons — 27 goals in 35 league matches — and added 8 more in the Champions League. The Norwegian cyborg also chipped in 9 assists across all competitions, proving he’s more than just a finisher. He already has the 2022-23 PFA award on his shelf. A second would put him in some very rare company.
✨ The Wildcard – Rayan Cherki
The 22-year-old Frenchman arrived at City with question marks all over him — could a flair player survive in Pep Guardiola’s structured system? The answer was a resounding yes. Cherki scored 10 goals and registered 15 assists across 52 appearances, finishing second in the assists chart with 12 in the league alone — nine clear of anyone except Fernandes. Watching Cherki play was the season’s purest football joy. A vote for him would be a vote for beautiful football.
🛡 The Dark Horse – Gabriel Magalhães
When a centre-back makes a PFA shortlist, you pay attention. Gabriel was Arsenal’s defensive bedrock all season — commanding, aggressive, unbeatable in the air and increasingly dangerous from set pieces at the other end. His contribution to the title is immeasurable. No defender dominated aerial duels as consistently, and his vocal leadership made the whole Arsenal backline greater than the sum of its parts. A win would be a statement about just how important the unsung defenders really are.
🧤 History Beckons – David Raya
The most audacious inclusion on the list — and the most compelling. Raya claimed his third consecutive Premier League Golden Glove with 19 clean sheets, and his sweeper-keeper ability under Mikel Arteta has redefined what a modern goalkeeper can be. Win this and he becomes only the second goalkeeper in PFA history to claim the award — the first being Pat Jennings, way back in 1976. That’s fifty years. Don’t count the Spaniard out.
Our pick? Bruno Fernandes — but don’t rule out Declan Rice.
If Fernandes wins, he joins an all-time Premier League elite as a triple individual award winner in a single season. If Rice wins, it honours one of the great title-winning campaigns of the modern era. If Raya wins, history is made. And if Cherki wins? Well — it means the players voted for the most fun. We could live with any of them. The ceremony can’t come soon enough. 🏆
