Bruno Fernandes and Khadija Shaw win player votes as the best in English soccer last season

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Bruno Fernandes was voted as the men's player of the year in English soccer for last season at the Professional Footballers’ Association awards on Tuesday, while Khadija “Bunny” Shaw got the women's accolade.

The Manchester United captain and Manchester City forward repeated their wins from May in votes by members of the Football Writers’ Association.

The PFA winners are elected by their fellow players.

“They are the ones you go on the pitch against and it’s probably not easy to vote for someone you play against, so it is a very good moment,” Fernandes said.

Fernandes broke the assists record in the Premier League's 34-year history by setting up 21 goals for Man United teammates. The previous mark was set by both Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

The 31-year-old Portugal international also scored nine times as Man United rallied from a poor start to the season for coach Ruben Amorim, and under interim boss Michael Carrick finished third in the Premier League and will return to the Champions League this season.

Shaw led Man City to its first Women’s Super League title in 10 years with a division-high 19 goals in 21 games. She was the league's top scorer for the third straight season.

The 29-year-old Jamaica captain also won the PFA award in 2024.

The young player awards were won by Nico O'Reilly of Manchester City and Olivia Smith of Arsenal. Smith won for the second straight season after a world record transfer from Liverpool.

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