To the surprise of many fans, a player who did not win the title was voted Premier League Player of the Season as Bruno Fernandes got the honor. The midfielder now joins a list of six players led by Cristiano Ronaldo who won it for Manchester United.
This award, voted by fans and a panel of experts, has been available since the restructuring of the English First Division into the Premier League in the 1994-95 season, with many legendary players receiving it. With a successful period under Sir Alex Ferguson, it was clear that many of the winners came from that era.
Just five players were able to win it twice, two being Manchester United figures: Ronaldo in 2006-07 and 2007-08, and Nemanja Vidić in 2008-09 and 2010-11. Fernandes joined a list that also features Wayne Rooney (2009-10), Dwight Yorke (1998-99), Peter Schmeichel (1995-96), and Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002-03). The award marked the end of a 15-year drought for the club.
Fernandes’ record season
It was a contrast like many times seen before for Manchester United after they fired Ruben Amorim in January. What looked like another disastrous year turned into a comfortable third place with Michael Carrick, who was confirmed for the role.
Carrick was confirmed as the manager (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
While the midfielder had a great performance overall, it was evident that with the improvement of the team his numbers went up, so much so that he can surpass a fantastic record.
In last week’s victory over Nottingham Forest, Fernandes recorded his 20th assist of the season to tie two legendary players of the competition, Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. This could be improved as there is still a match left against Brighton on Sunday.
Most chances created
Fernandes’ creativity can be seen in his assists. However, his impact on the game is so much bigger than that of most players that he also leads the Premier League in chances created with 132 so far. To put his mark into context, that is 43 more than the nearest player, Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai.
