Bruno Fernandes has been named the Premier League Player of the Season.
The Manchester United midfielder saw off competition from the shortlisted David Raya, Gabriel and Declan Rice of Arsenal, Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo of Manchester City, Igor Thiago of Brentford, and Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest.
The Portugal midfielder had already claimed the FWA Footballer of the Year award.
Fernandes has equalled Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne’s record of 20 assists in a Premier League campaign. He has also scored eight goals.
He could yet break the assists record in United’s final game of the season against Brighton on Sunday.
Read more:Man United’s Bruno Fernandes equals Premier League assist record
United have secured third-place in the league, and Champions League qualification, this season.
This is the first time that Fernandes, 31, has won the award. He is the first United player since Nemanja Matic, in 2010-11, to win it.
Peter Schmeichel, Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney are fellow United players to win the Premier League Player of the Season Award.
However, Fernandes’ pursuit of the assists record recently has irked former United captain Roy Keane.
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“When you’re the captain of a club and you’re supposed to be driving the club forward, do not be getting bogged down by just your role in the team, just assists,” Keane said on The Overlap.
“What I heard at United at the weekend, honestly, I was raging with it. The whole chat about his assists… Everyone, the players were [talking about it], the game was about his assists. That’s the whole thing.
“After the game he got interviewed and he said, the captain of Manchester United, said ‘A few times, I probably should have… shot but I made the passes.’ Wow. How can your mindset be not to win the match but be about an individual record?”
Keane added: “Bruno gives a pass and they missed it. What did Bruno do after he missed it? He went on the floor. Why is he falling? [He’s disappointed] for himself. His striker is having a difficult spell and missed a couple of chances, and he’s thinking of himself.”
