Bruno Fernandes Named 2023/24 Premier League Player of the Season After Standout Campaign
Key keywords: Bruno Fernandes, Premier League Player of the Season, 2023/24 Premier League, Manchester United, Premier League annual awards, midfield performance, goal contributions, Erik ten Hag, fan voting, English top-flight football
The English Premier League officially announced on May 17, 2024 that Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been named the 2023/24 Premier League Player of the Season, beating out fellow nominees including Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard to claim one of the most prestigious individual honors in European club football. The award is decided by a combined vote of Premier League fans, a panel of football experts and the captains of all 20 top-flight clubs, with Fernandes securing 42% of the total vote share, the highest for any midfielder since the award’s voting structure was updated in 2018.
Fernandes, 29, enjoyed a career-best campaign in his fourth full season at Old Trafford, making 37 Premier League appearances, all as a starter, and recording 12 goals and 16 assists to contribute to 28 of Manchester United’s 58 league goals this term. He led the entire division in key passes (129), pressing actions in the final third (347) and minutes played for outfield players, serving as the undisputed tactical and spiritual core of Erik ten Hag’s side. His consistent performances were widely credited as the driving force behind Manchester United’s late-season surge to finish fourth in the league table, securing a spot in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League group stage after a turbulent first half of the season that saw the club sitting as low as 10th in November.
Speaking at the award ceremony held at Old Trafford, Fernandes said, “This award isn’t just for me, it’s for every single one of my teammates, the coaching staff and the fans who have supported us through every high and low this season. I came to Manchester United to win trophies, and while individual recognition is nice, our focus now is on building on this momentum to challenge for the Premier League title and major European honors next season.” Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag hailed the award as a “fully deserved recognition of Bruno’s commitment, quality and leadership”, noting that he sets the standard for work rate and professionalism for every player in the squad. Fernandes is the first Manchester United player to win the Premier League Player of the Season award since Wayne Rooney claimed the honor in the 2009/10 campaign, and only the fourth Portuguese player to win the award in Premier League history, following Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Bernardo Silva.
Featured Comments
As a lifelong Manchester United supporter, I could not be prouder to see Bruno lift this award. He has been the absolute heart of our team for years, and this season he dragged us through so many tough matches when the rest of the squad looked off pace. That last-minute winning goal he scored against Tottenham in March alone was enough to justify this award for me, fully deserved!
As a football pundit who has covered every Premier League match this season, this result is completely justified. Critics love to pick on his occasional misplaced passes, but no other player in the league had as much outsized impact on their team’s final standing as Bruno. He led the division in chance creation, work rate and big-game contributions, and beat out a list of world-class nominees fairly.
I’m a diehard Arsenal fan who was rooting for Martin Odegaard to take this home, but I can’t even be upset. Bruno was sensational from start to finish this season, playing every single minute like it was his last. You can see how much he cares about every result, and his leadership clearly turned Manchester United’s season around when they were at their lowest. Hats off to a fantastic player.