Henry’s record of 20 assists in a single league campaign was unmatched for 23 years before Fernandes surpassed it in May, setting up Patrick Dorgu on the final day of the season for his 21st.
The Portugal international also netted nine goals to help return UEFA Champions League football to Old Trafford via his club’s third-place finish.
Fernandes adds the gong to his extensive list of 2025/26 individual accolades, which include the FWA Footballer of the Year, Premier League Player of the Season and Manchester United Players’ Player of the Year.
It breaks a run of eight straight seasons in which a player from either Manchester City or Liverpool was awarded the honour, and Fernandes becomes the first Man United player since Wayne Rooney in 2009/10 to be given the title.
While rumours have linked The Red Devils captain to a move away from Manchester this summer, his club are reportedly set to reject any offer that comes in.
Despite the speculation, the 31-year-old played the full 90 minutes as a freshly-promoted Hull City stunned the 20-time league champions 2-0 on the opening weekend of the new season.
In the Men’s PFA Young Player of the Year category, Nico O’Reilly was recognised for his standout contribution to Manchester City’s ultimately unsuccessful title challenge.
The 21-year-old played all but four league matches as Pep Guardiola employed him in a variety of positions, primarily at left-back, but also in central midfield and on the left wing.
O’Reilly scored five goals and provided three assists in the Premier League and the Man City academy graduate also netted both goals in his side’s Carabao Cup final victory over Arsenal.
Thomas Tuchel rewarded the youngster with a spot in his England squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, starting five games in The Three Lions’ run to the semi-final.
Shaw and Smith pick up WSL honours
The Women’s PFA Player of the Year went to 2023/24 winner Bunny Shaw for her outstanding role in Manchester City’s first Barclays Women’s Super League title for a decade.
Shaw, like Fernandes, ripped up the record books in her devastating 21-goal campaign, at the end of which she claimed a third consecutive Golden Boot.
She moved clear of both Sam Kerr and Vivianne Miedema in top scorer titles, helped by an unprecedented 13-minute hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur.
But the 29-year-old even managed a quartet of strikes in a single match, becoming the first women’s player to tally 100 goals for Man City.
The centre-forward still needs another 17 league goals to hit a century of WSL strikes, a feat yet to be achieved by anybody, though City colleague Miedema is closing in on 97.
Meanwhile, Olivia Smith was awarded the Women’s PFA Young Player of the Year for the second year running following her world-record transfer to Arsenal.
The former Liverpool forward moved to The Gunners as the most expensive signing in the history of the women’s game, becoming the first female £1 million player in the process.
Smith, 22, settled in admirably at her new club, scoring on her debut and notching eight goals across all competitions in 2025/26.
PFA Teams of the year
The PFA Premier League Team of the Year included five Arsenal players, with David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice earning a place.
Manchester City had four players included: Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki, Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo.
Manchester United’s Fernandes got the nod, as did Brentford’s Igor Thiago.
With Arsenal winning the league, it was no surprise that they had the most players selected, likewise the Manchester City contingent who ran the Gunners close.
The PFA Women’s Super League Team of the Year was a slightly more mixed affair, with five teams seeing players selected.
Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton, Ellie Carpenter and Lauren James got the nod, as did Manchester City’s Kerstin Casparij, Yui Hasegawa and Khadija Shaw.
Alessia Russo, Emily Fox and Mariona Caldentey for Arsenal were included, as was Toko Koga for Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United’s Jessica Park completed the line up.