Bruno Fernandes took his place at 27th out of the top 30 men’s players in the world on Monday night, although it came at a difficult moment for the Manchester United captain the day after being an unused substitute in his team’s humbling defeat to Bournemouth.

Fernandes earned his 2026 Ballon d’Or nomination following a supercharged campaign in which he broke the 23-year-old record for assists in a Premier League season.

The Portuguese maestro set up 21 goals over the course of the 38-game season, going one better than the top mark from Thierry Henry in 2002–03. Kevin De Bruyne equaled the record of 20 in 2019–20, but no one had ever bettered it until Fernandes. That achievement was soon rewarded with a clean sweep of FWA Footballer of the Year, PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season, as well as a club-record fifth Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year.

Prior to the Ballon d’Or ceremony beginning at the London Palladium, the 20 players outside the top 10 were revealed in descending order.

Following votes from the panel of 100 journalists—one from each of FIFA’s top 100-ranked national teams—Fernandes finished 27th.  He only placed higher than William Saliba and Sadio Mané—equal 29th, and Julián Quiñones, who ranked 28th. Arsenal’s Declan Rice, who lost out to Fernandes for all the domestic prizes, finish 13 places above the Manchester United captain.

This was the second time Fernandes was a Ballon d’Or nominee, having previously made the list back in 2021. On that occasion, he finished equal 21st, one place ahead of Harry Kane, three in front of Pedri and eight in front of 2018 winner Luka Modrić.

In 2021, Fernandes was making waves for different reasons. His game has become more about assists, but five years ago he was a more prolific goalscorer than most strikers.

Fernandes got 28 goals across all competitions for Manchester United in 2020–21, in a team that finished second in the Premier League.

The 32-year-old was ultimately nowhere near winning in 2026, but even to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or—and consequently be considered among the best in the world—is an incredible honor that more than 99.9% of pro soccer players never achieve.

Every Man Utd Ballon d’Or Winner

Manchester United have, of course, had several Ballon d’Or winners in the past.

The first was Denis Law, now 62 years ago in 1964. The Scottish goal machine scored 46 times across the 1963–64 season, which remains a Manchester United single-season record to this day.

Bobby Charlton, a nine-time nominee between 1960 and 1971, picked up the honor two years later in 1966 after playing a key role in England’s World Cup win.

George Best, the third United player of the decade to reach the mountaintop, did in 1968, marking the season in which the club became the first from England to win the European Cup.

United waited 40 years for the next, which was awarded to Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.