Declan Rice is being billed as the favourite for the PFA Player of the Year gong amid Arsenal’s push for a first Premier League title in 22 years, which is understandable. His set-piece prowess has been vital to the Gunners’ much-maligned but extremely effective game plan, and his ball-winning skills have gone a long way to the team posting the best defensive record in the division.
It would still be a travesty if he beat Fernandes in the final vote, though. The United skipper is a superior footballer in every way, and Rice’s numbers don’t come close to his, despite the fact that they both played the same position in the first half of the season.
Fernandes has 23 goal involvements, behind only Manchester City’s goal-scoring terminator Erling Haaland (29), while Rice is on a modest 11, having appeared in three more Premier League games than United’s talisman. Gabriel Magalhaes, Antoine Semenyo and Igor Thiago are also contenders for the PFA prize, but none of them measure up to Fernandes either.
His 16 assists have been worth 18 points to United alone this term, more than any other player in Premier League history, while he also ranks top in 2025-26 for through-balls and sits second for successful passes in the final third. Creating chances is the essence of football, and Fernandes is an unrivalled expert.
Take him out of the line up and United are infinitely weaker, which is not true of the other players mentioned above with their teams. Indeed, when Fernandes was laid low with injury over the festive period, they dropped valuable points against struggling Wolves and Leeds, ultimately costing Amorim his job.
If Fernandes had left last summer when fielding interest from Saudi Arabia, the Red Devils wouldn’t be anywhere near the top three, and Premier League stock would have plummeted without its last true maverick.
