Who has been shortlisted for the 2026 PFA Player of the Year?

After another thrilling campaign the Premier League's most prestigious individual award is up for grabs once more.

Voted by their fellow players, the honour has been awarded to some of the most iconic names in Premier League history, including the likes of Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin De Bruyne.

After inspiring Liverpool to a second Premier League triumph Mohamed Salah claimed the award for a third time last season, becoming the first player ever to achieve the feat.

However, the Egyptian failed to maintain such a standard this season in what could prove to be his final season at Anfield as the Reds slumped to fifth in the table and he was not named among the six-man shortlist.

With the nominees now announced, we've taken a look at each of the players in the running to win the coveted 2026 PFA Player of the Year award.

When is the 2026 PFA Players' Player of the Year announced?

Bruno Fernandes

At the halfway point it seemed inconceivable that a Manchester United player would be nominated for the award, much less be one of the favourites to take it home.

Bruno Fernandes has been a talismanic figure in Manchester since he arrived from Sporting Lisbon in January of 2020, but he has reached new heights at Old Trafford this season.

The United captain's inclusion here is testament to resurgence the club have undergone since Michael Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim at the club in January.

Carrick's midfield reshuffle has allowed the Portuguese to focus more on his playmaking duties, and the move has paid dividends.

Fernandes set a new Premier League record this season with his 21 assists, and he could become the first United player to win the award since Wayne Rooney more than 15 years ago.

Declan Rice

Winning the Premier League has traditionally been almost a sure-fire way to ensure that one of said team's players walks away with the PFA Player of the Year award.

In fact, in the last seven years, only once has a player not from the winning team claimed the honour. (Mohamed Salah in 2021-22)

As a result, a number of Arsenal players will feel that they have a golden opportunity to take the award after finally getting over the line to be crowned champions of England once more, but perhaps none more so than Declan Rice.

Rice has been integral to the Gunners' success since joining the club from West Ham three years ago and enjoyed some of the best form of his career this season, playing in all but two of Arsenal's games as they secured Premier League glory.

Gabriel Magalhaes

Though the agony of his missed spot kick in last week's UEFA Champions League final will linger long in the memory, it should not detract from just how crucial Gabriel Magalhaes has been to Arsenal's success this season.

With his imperious partnership with William Saliba, Gabriel has been one of the most consistent players in Mikel Arteta's side on their run to a first league title in more than two decades.

History may be against the 28-year-old in his bid to claim the PFA Player of the Year Award, however.

In the Premier League era the only defenders to have won the award are Paul McGrath (1992-93), John Terry (2004-05), and Virgil van Dijk (2018-19). Plus, no Brazilian has ever collected the honour, with Luis Suarez (2013-14) the only South American to have won.

David Raya

The backbone of any great team is a great goalkeeper and David Raya certainly fits that bill for Arsenal.

Despite being relatively short for an elite shot-stopper at 6ft flat, Raya's ability with the ball at his feet and consistency have been imperative to making Mikel Arteta's style of play a success.

This year Raya recorded 19 clean sheets in the Premier League, winning the Premier League Golden Glove award for a third successive year in the process.

Raya also equalled David Seaman's club record for the most clean sheets in a season, but despite his success taking home the PFA Player of the Year trophy is extremely unlikely.

The only goalkeeper ever to win the award was Tottenham's Pat Jennings, exactly half a century ago.

Erling Haaland

Since making the move to the Premier League Erling Haaland has lived up to every expectation as arguably the greatest pure goalscorer the English top flight has ever seen.

The spearhead of Pep Guardiola's side, Haaland has continued to dominate the goalscoring charts despite City's failure to win the title over the last two seasons.

After 10 games of the 2025-26 season the Norwegian forward had already racked up 13 goals, and he looked on course to break his own record for the most goals ever scored in a Premier League season.

Ultimately a run of just one goal in seven games in January slowed Haaland's momentum, but he still finished the campaign with a remarkable 27 league goals to comfortably top the scoring charts once again.

Rayan Cherki

With Pep Guardiola's all-conquering spell at Manchester City soon to come to an end, one of the biggest legacies he will leave at the club is the ability to consistently mould burgeoning prospects into world class talents.

City signed Rayan Cherki last summer, with the £36million they paid Lyon viewed as an incredible piece of business given his youth and potential.

Yet somehow, it was even better than they could have imagined.

Cherki has made an instant impact at the Etihad and his performances have been duly recognised, with the Frenchman the only player this season to be nominated for the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year awards.