Fernandes ranked 27th for Ballon d’Or a day after Carrick left him unused against Bournemouth
Bruno Fernandes finished 27th in the 2026 Ballon d'Or, months after a record-breaking season that swept England's individual awards. The ranking arrived a day after Michael Carrick kept United's captain on the bench for the whole of a home defeat by Bournemouth.
Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or. He is the first Englishman to win it in 25 years. The ceremony was held in London rather than Paris.
United’s captain finished one place below Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano. He was one place above Al Qadsiah’s Julián Quiñones. This was his second nomination. On his first, in 2021, he finished joint 21st.
English voters put him ahead of Rice, Ballon d’Or voters did not
The placing sits awkwardly beside his 2025/26 campaign. Declan Rice finished second to Fernandes for every major domestic award. Yet Rice placed 13 spots higher than the United captain in the Ballon d’Or vote, Sports Illustrated reported.
In the FWA ballot, Rice trailed by 28 votes. Wayne Rooney, back in 2010, had been the previous United player to take that prize. When he collected the PFA honour, Fernandes called being chosen by his fellow players “a very proud moment”.
His output went beyond creating chances. He scored nine goals as United finished third under Carrick. That finish brought Champions League qualification.
The ranking followed his benching in an eighth game without a win
His standing at Old Trafford now looks very different. Without their captain on the pitch, United fell behind when Rayan scored for Bournemouth after 38 minutes. Marcus Tavernier added a second on 43 minutes. Evanilson completed the win on 71 minutes.
The result means United have now gone eight games without a win. It also extends a difficult spell for the captain. He had criticised the team’s tactics after the 4-1 Champions League defeat at Como in midweek.
Asked about the call, Carrick gave little away and described it simply as one of the decisions made on the day. In his post-match comments on the club website, Carrick said he had mixed emotions after the defeat.
In only a few months, the captain’s fortunes have turned sharply. The player who led English football’s awards last season is now outside his manager’s starting line-up. He is also well down the global ranking, below a rival he beat for every major domestic prize.
United’s next match is a Premier League trip to Chelsea. After that, they host AS Roma at Old Trafford in the Champions League.
Old Trafford: Eirian Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
