Picture Credit: Twitter
The Football Writers' Association has selected Erling Haaland of Manchester City as their Footballer of the Year. 14 other players were also in the contention for the award including players like Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Kevin De Bruyne. However, Haaland won by the widest margin of victory in the history of the Premier League, winning 82 per cent of the FWA vote. Bukayo Saka finished at the second position whereas Martin Odegaard finished third. The youngster became the first player from Manchester City since Ruben Dias won the award in 2020-21. After teammate Ruben Dias, Jurgen Klinsmann, and Gianfranco Zola, Haaland became just the fourth player to win the prize in his first season in the Premier League.
“It's an honour”, according to Haaland to win this award in his first season playing English football. "I work hard to be the greatest version of myself every day, so it means a lot to me to be recognised in this way,” Haaland also credited Pep Guardiola and the City for their contribution in this. "I also owe a great deal to Pep and the City organisation that supports the team. Since I started working here, everyone has been very kind to me, and I have never worked with such top-notch professionals. I want to thank everyone who supported me. It's a true honour to have received this recognition,” he further added.
Haaland will receive the honour on May 25, during a special Footballer of the Year event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the honour, which was first won by Sir Stanley Matthews in 1948.
The Norwegian has scored a staggering 51 goals in 47 games across all competitions, putting City in position to win the Premier League, Champions League, and the FA Cup for the first time since rival Manchester United in 1999. The striker already has four Premier League hat-tricks under his belt, since his signing last summer.
Manchester City will next face Everton at the Goodison Park in their next Premier League fixture on May 14 (IST). This will be the last fixture before the all important second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Spanish giants Real Madrid, where the scores are currently tied 1-1 after the first leg.
