Declan Rice did not hesitate to clap for Bruno Fernandes after the Manchester United captain was crowned the PFA Players' Player of the Year at the PFA Awards on Tuesday. The Arsenal midfielder was among those watching as Fernandes picked up the honour instead of Rice.
Fernandes' record-breaking season
Fernandes' heroics last season saw him lead United to a third-place finish and unlikely Champions League qualification. He broke the all-time Premier League assist record with 21, one more than Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry achieved in the 2019/20 and 2002/03 seasons, respectively.
The 31-year-old was largely battling Rice for the award, with the Arsenal talisman having played a major role in his side's title triumph. However, it was the Portugal international who was crowned.
Rice's gracious response
Despite missing out on the trophy, the England midfielder's classy reaction was captured by cameras at the ceremony. Moments after Fernandes was announced as the winner, the camera panned to Rice in the audience and out of his Arsenal team-mates sitting next to him - Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, David Raya and Gabriel - he was by far the most enthusiastic in applause.
Fans praised Rice for being gracious in defeat. One fan wrote: "One thing about Rice, he'll always show respect. Proper mentality." Another user said: "Fair play to Declan Rice."
A clean sweep of honours
Rice's team-mates, with whom he was seated, were all voted into the PFA Team of the Year alongside the Englishman. But Fernandes enjoyed a clean sweep of honours after also being voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Season.
After picking up the FWA award in May earlier this year, he said: "[It] was a special season, individual for me. And obviously, I'm very proud that all the ones that have decided to help me."
He added: "I haven't thought about the (assists) record much until you guys started commenting so much. Obviously, then when you start getting closer, you start thinking about it and everything. But I think it got into more into my strikers and into myself. The more so, you get to score the goal and to give me that feeling that sometimes they even forgot about their own game."
The shine of Fernandes' glittering campaign officially wore off last Saturday afternoon after United were surprisingly defeated 2-0 by newly-promoted Hull City. The reigning champions enjoyed a different outcome in their season opener, dispatching Coventry City 3-0 at Emirates Stadium.
