Sports
Piers Morgan Furious as Bruno Fernandes Named Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers’ Association have made their decision on their Player of the Year award, and it hasn’t gone without considerable protest from one Arsenal fan who can’t help but butt in and give his two pence at every opportunity, Piers Morgan.
Bruno Fernandes has been named the FWA Footballer of the Year for the 2025/26 season, beating Arsenal’s Declan Rice to the award.
Morgan, one of Arsenal’s most famous supporters, took to X to make his feelings abundantly clear. Telegraph journalist Sam Dean gave a detailed breakdown of the respective cases for both players, but explained that the English midfielder was most deserving. Morgan agreed with the opinion.
Piers Morgan Baffled By Rice Snub
Objectivity is hardly Morgan’s strong suit, but he wasn’t alone with his opinion on this matter. Neutral journalist Dean laid out the reasoning, as he wrote:
“Put it this way: Rice is the most important player in the side that is top of the Premier League table, has reached the finals of both the Champions League and League Cup and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Fernandes is playing for a team that, by contrast, sacked their manager in January, has not played a single game in Europe and lost at the first hurdle in both domestic cups.
“Another way of looking at it: Rice has won more competitive club matches this season (35) than Fernandes has even played (34). Rice has been on the pitch for 4,156 minutes in all competitions, often playing through pain, in pursuit of the biggest prizes. Fernandes has played 2,933 minutes, in pursuit of a top-five finish.”
Morgan agreed, as he made his frustrations clear and branded the decision a “farce.” He also replied a few moments earlier to the FWA’s own announcement, summing it up with a single word: “Ridiculous.”
In a season where Arsenal have a genuine chance of completing one of English football’s most historic doubles, their one-man midfield engine has been totally indispensable.
The Argument for Bruno
And yet, it would be deeply unfair to dismiss Fernandes’ season entirely. The Portugal international has carried Manchester United through the most turbulent period in the club’s Premier League history. United sacked their manager in January, have not played a single game in European competition this season, and were eliminated at the first hurdle in both domestic cups, one that included an embarrassing loss away to Grimsby on penalties.
But for large stretches of the season, Fernandes has been the only recognisable quality in a side that’s been in full rebuild mode.
His numbers in the Premier League are genuinely impressive, 8 goals and an enormous 19 assists, just one off the record set by both Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. With three fixtures against Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and Brighton to go, many fancy the 31-year-old to at least equal that record, if not break it.
In his third year as captain of the Red Devils, he’s led by example in the most difficult of circumstances, almost single-handedly dragging them back to the Champions League.
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The FWA award has historically recognised individual brilliance as much as collective success, and there’s a school of thought that a player who shines in adversity deserves as much credit as one supported by a world-class squad.
The honest answer is that both arguments have merit, and reasonable people can disagree. But when you see two players, playing at opposite points of a midfield, with polar opposite stats and with differing competition and personnel around them, it simply becomes a matter of opinion for the FWA, not right or wrong, no matter how passionate about Arsenal Piers Morgan is.
With Tottenham strengthening significantly in the summer transfer window, we could see a number of players head through the exit door.
The Spurs will be without European football heading into next season after they finished 17th in the Premier League table.
As a result, some of Tottenham’s key players will be looking for new challenges as they aim to play in the Champions League.
Thankfully for Spurs, they’ve already recruited significantly in the summer transfer window, confirming six new additions.
A big rebuild in the summer is likely for Tottenham, and it could be something that is hugely beneficial for them after such a difficult few years.
Roberto De Zerbi has shown signs of turning things around for Spurs, and the club are clearly looking to back him in the transfer market.
Tottenham star has strong chance of leaving
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Cristian Romero has a serious possibility of leaving the club in the summer transfer window.
The reliable journalist confirms that Romero wants to be playing European football next season, while he would also like to experience playing in La Liga.
“Cristian ‘Cuti’ Romero, at the moment, from Tottenham Hotspur, the view is clear, they have Van de Ven, Van Hecke, Senesi, they have plenty of centre-backs. Also, not playing European football this season, the idea of parting ways with Cuti Romero is still a serious possibility. So, there is still a strong chances for Romero to leave Tottenham this summer. Despite rumours from Italy that keep arriving with Romero, my understanding is that Romero would really like to have a new experience in LaLiga. So, Cuti Romero would like to have a new experience in LaLiga if the right opportunity arrives for him and for Tottenham.”
Romero adds that could mean playing for Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, but it is currently unclear where he will end up.
“That could be an option for Barcelona, it could be an option for Atletico Madrid, we will see, but Romero would like to go to LaLiga and try an experience in Spain. We will see what arrives for Romero because he signed a contract only a year ago, the season was not easy, but at the same time, there could be movement also because Tottenham already signed several centre-backs, and they feel well-covered in that situation, so it’s going to be a situation to watch.”
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Tottenham can afford to lose Romero
Romero, who has been described as ‘world-class’ by Spurs team-mate Micky van de Ven, has been a key player for Tottenham over the years, but considering their recent struggles, they shouldn’t be overly against selling anyone this summer.
A rebuild is exactly what they need to start heading back in the right direction. With Jan-Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi already arriving through the door, there’s no reason why Romero should be untouchable.
If Tottenham can receive a huge fee from a club in La Liga, it makes sense for them to cash in, especially as they are spending significantly in the summer transfer window.
Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Enzo Fernandez situation amid the Argentine’s links with a Chelsea exit. The midfielder became the centre of one of the early transfer sagas this summer after requesting to leave amid interest from Real Madrid, but the World Cup has since taken centre stage.
Fernandez is currently in North America with Argentina, and he is playing a central role, scoring to complete a comeback win over Egypt in the Round of 16 on Tuesday night. The World Cup champions came back from two goals down in the second half to keep their dream of retaining the World Cup alive.
In the meantime, Fernandez continues to be linked with a move away from Chelsea.
Romano issues fresh Fernandez update
According to transfer guru Fabriio Romano, Fernandez is not going to be going anywhere until at least after the World Cup, and even then there will be talks with Chelsea before any kind of transfer progresses.
“Talking about Enzo, the situation will be discussed after the World Cup,” Romano said on his YouTube show. “Nothing will change during the World Cup. The agent of the player, Javier Pastore will talk to Chelsea after the World Cup to try to understand which one will be the best solution for all parties.
“Remember, this story started because Enzo Fernandez and Chelsea were not able to reach an agreement on the contract since the end of November or start of December, so the contract is still a problem between Enzo Fernandez and Chelsea. Then, let me tell you, after the Real Madrid statement, I saw some stories about Man City, but what I am aware, Man City are not in active talks to sign Enzo Fernandez at this stage.”
Chelsea to offload young forward
Meanwhile, Chelsea will be loaning out young talent Jesse Derry, with the young forward set to continue his development at a big club in Sporting CP.
Romano posted on X: “Jesse Derry to Sporting, here we go! Deal done on loan until June 2027, salary covered and no buy option. Chelsea got new deal done for Derry this week and now allow him to leave on loan to Sporting. Derry will return to #CFC in June 2027.”
Derry is a 19-year-old forward who has been impressing with the youth setup, and he has even made a senior appearance. The youngster is the son of former Crystal Palace defender Shaun Derry.
Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright has explained why Argentina’s winning goal against Egypt should not have counted.
Argentina completed a remarkable comeback in their last 16 fixture to secure their place in the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals.
The reigning world champions found themselves on the verge of a shock elimination at the Atlanta Stadium after Mostafa Ziko put Egypt 2-0 up in the 67th minute.
However, two goals in four minutes from Cristian Romero and captain Lionel Messi, who leads the race for the Golden Boot award with eight goals this tournament, turned the game on its head.
Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez then sent the Argentina fans into raptures with the winning goal in stoppage-time.
Egypt Fume After Controversial Argentina Victory
Egypt’s players and coaching staff were furious, convinced they were the victims of a miscarriage of justice following a series of controversial decisions in the second half.
The Pharaohs had a 58th-minute goal disallowed following a foul on Lisandro Martinez at the opposite end of the pitch. They were also convinced they should have been awarded a penalty for a foul on Mohamed Salah moments before Fernandez netted the winner.
An emotional Ziko claimed the tournament was “rigged” in favour of Argentina after the match, while Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan was quoted saying:
“They want Argentina and Messi to stay in the World Cup for marketing.”
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Ian Wright Casts Strong Verdict
Meanwhile, ITV Sport pundit Ian Wright offered his verdict on the late drama, arguing Argentina’s third and final goal should have been disallowed.
The 62-year-old believes referee Francois Letexier’s decision to disallow Egypt’s goal earlier in the second half set a precedent that meant Salah should have been awarded a penalty before Fernandez scored.
“That’s what happening with VAR now, they’re pulling it back,” Wright said.
“If you’re going to pull it back for Argentina on the edge of the box to disallow a goal, you have to pull it back for this one with Mo Salah.”
Wright added: “He’s been caught. Whatever we say, it might be minimal, he’s been caught and then they go up the other end.” Watch the clip below:
Wright’s former England teammate and Match of the Day colleague Alan Shearer appeared to be in agreement on X (Twitter). The Newcastle United legend tweeted:
“Either both are fouls or neither is a foul. But they’re not going to re-referee they told us.”
Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals at the Kansas City Stadium on Saturday night (Sunday, 2am BST). The winners will play either England or Norway in the semi-finals on July 15, back at the Atlanta Stadium.
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