The Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, previously known as the MUFC Members Player of the Year (1988–1995), is an award presented to the Manchester United fans' player of the season. It is named after former Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby, who managed the club in two spells, from 1945 to 1969 and from 1970 to 1971. The award was renamed in his honour in 1996, following his death in 1994, and a new trophy was commissioned – a scaled-down replica of the statue of Busby at the east end of Old Trafford.

The first winner of the award was Brian McClair in 1988, who also became the first player to win it twice, having also won it in 1992. Since then, seven other players have won the award more than once, of which five have won it in consecutive seasons: Roy Keane (1999, 2000), Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002, 2003), Cristiano Ronaldo (2004, 2007, 2008), David de Gea (2014, 2015, 2016), and Bruno Fernandes (2020, 2021 and 2024, 2025, 2026). Ronaldo's 2008 win made him the first player to receive the award three times, having also won in 2004. De Gea won the award in 2016 for the third consecutive year, becoming the second player after Ronaldo to do so, and the first in three consecutive seasons. Bruno Fernandes won the award for a fifth time in 2026, as the first player to do so, and second player to win the award for three consecutive years.

Voting takes place towards the end of each season, usually in April, and is open to anyone who has an account on the club's official website. Voting was originally done by post until the 1994–95 season, when a phone voting system was introduced. Postal voting forms were included in the club magazine, Inside United, and before that, voting was open only to members of the official supporters' club, who would receive a voting form in the post at the end of the season. Until the establishment of the official supporters' club, a separate award had been given by the members of its predecessor, the independent Manchester United Supporters Club.

Other end-of-season awards given by Manchester United include the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year Award, the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award, the Players' Player of the Year Award, and the Goal of the Season Award. Of these, the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award and the Players' Player of the Year Award are voted for by the players. The prizes for all five awards are given at an annual awards night, which is held near the end of the league season and broadcast live on the club's television channel, MUTV. A list of winners of the youth awards can be seen here.

Winners

Players in bold are still playing for Manchester United

Season Name Nationality Position Notes 1987–88 1988–89 First English winner 1989–90 1990–91 First Academy graduate to win award 1991–92 First player to win the award on two occasions 1992–93 1993–94 First winner from outside the United Kingdom 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 First player to win the award in consecutive years 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 First winner from outside Europe 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 First player to win the award on three occasions 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 First winner from North America 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 First goalkeeper to win the award 2014–15 2015–16 First player to win the award in three consecutive years 2016–17 2017–18 First player to win the award on four occasions 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 Record-equalling fourth award 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 Record-equalling fourth award 2025–26Record-breaking fifth award

Wins by player WinnerTotal winsYear(s) Bruno Fernandes 5 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025, 2026 Cristiano Ronaldo 4 2004, 2007, 2008, 2022 David de Gea 4 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 Brian McClair 2 1988, 1992 Eric Cantona 2 1994, 1996 Roy Keane 2 1999, 2000 Ruud van Nistelrooy 2 2002, 2003 Wayne Rooney 2 2006, 2010 Bryan Robson 1 1989 Gary Pallister 1 1990 Mark Hughes 1 1991 Paul Ince 1 1993 Andrei Kanchelskis 1 1995 David Beckham 1 1997 Ryan Giggs 1 1998 Teddy Sheringham 1 2001 Gabriel Heinze 1 2005 Nemanja Vidić 1 2009 Javier Hernández 1 2011 Antonio Valencia 1 2012 Robin van Persie 1 2013 Ander Herrera 1 2017 Luke Shaw 1 2019 Marcus Rashford 1 2023

Wins by playing position Position Number of wins Goalkeeper 4 Defender 4 Midfielder 16 Forward 14

Wins by nationality Nationality Number of winners 9 9 5 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1

Players' Player of the Year Season Name Nationality Position Notes 2005–06 Inaugural winner 2006–07 First non-British winner 2007–08 First player to win the award in consecutive years 2008–09 2009–10 First English winner 2010–11 Nani 2011–12 First non-European winner 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 First player to win the award on three occasions 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 First player to win the award on four occasions 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26

Manager's Player of the Year Season Name Nationality Position Notes 2017–18 Special award

References

External links Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year Award at MUFCInfo.com All Player of the Year Winners at ManUtd.com