Fernandes wins 2026 FWA Footballer of the Year, praises Declan Rice as one of Premier League’s best

Abdullateef Fowewe

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has been named the 2026 Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year, narrowly edging out Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice.

Speaking in his winner’s interview, the Manchester United captain reserved high praise for Rice, describing him as “one of the standout players and the best players in the Premier League” — a status Fernandes says stretches back to Rice’s West Ham days.

“Declan Rice as teammates one day? I already spoke about that. Obviously, Dec is an amazing player,” Fernandes said.

“One of the standout players and the best players in the Premier League, not this season but since he’s been playing also for West Ham. He was already great. If not, Arsenal wouldn’t have paid as much as they did for him. And I think as I said before, I won this one. I’m very happy with it. But if Dec had got ahead of me and won this award, it would be very deservedly too because he’s been having an amazing season and he’s one of the best players in the Premier League.”

Fernandes also admitted he was “really sad” when Rice joined Arsenal, having long considered the England international a perfect fit for Manchester United.

Despite that disappointment, the United captain kept a gracious tone, acknowledging the size of Arsenal’s transfer fee as evidence of Rice’s quality and saying he would have happily conceded the award had Rice been chosen.