LONDON (AP) — Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was voted as footballer of the year in England by soccer writers, while Manchester City striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw won the women’s award for a second time on Friday.
Fernandes captured the accolade handed out by the Football Writers’ Association near the end of a season when he has made 19 assists for United in the Premier League — one off the record — and helped the team get back in the Champions League.
The Portugal midfielder finished ahead of Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, taking 45% of the votes from the FWA membership of more than 900.
He is the first Man United player since Wayne Rooney in 2010 to win the award, which has been running since 1947 to make it the oldest individual soccer award in the world.
Shaw beat Arsenal’s Alessia Russo and Chelsea’s Lauren James to the award after leading Man City to its first Women’s Super League title in 10 years with a division-high 19 goals in 21 games.
Shaw also won it in 2024.
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