Erling Haaland has been named the 2022/23 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, while Pep Guardiola has been named the UEFA Coach of the Year.
Haaland, who was nominated alongside fellow Sky Blue star Kevin De Bruyne, also knocked out Lionel Messi for the award.
The accolade was presented this evening at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, capping off a fantastic week for the attacker, who was crowned PFA Players’ Player of the Year on Tuesday.
Haaland had a fantastic season in 2022/23, culminating in the historic Treble of Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League.
He took the Premier League by storm, breaking Alan Shearer’s and Andrew Cole’s scoring record with 36 goals.
He also hit 52 across all competitions – the most goals in all competitions by a player at a Premier League club.
Haaland was on fire in Europe too, scoring 12 goals, which made him top scorer in the Champions League this past campaign.
That tally also meant he enjoyed the honour of most goals for an English club in a single Champions League season, alongside former Man Utd striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The 23-year-old also became not only the youngest but the quickest player to net 35 Champions League goals – five of which he scored in our 7-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Round of 16.
That means he became only the third player ever to score five goals in one Champions League game.
“I am honoured to have been named UEFA Men’s Player of the Year. There are so many top talents across Europe who could have won this award, so I am really grateful to everyone who voted for me,” said Haaland.
“We have an incredible team here at Manchester City and this accolade wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my teammates, coaches and all of the staff at the Club.
“It was an incredible season for all of us and for me personally after securing the Treble. Lifting my first Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League was an incredible feeling and it’s a feeling we all want to share again this season.”
Treble-winning City boss Pep Guardiola has been named the 2022/23 UEFA Men’s Coach of the Year.
Guardiola, who led City to the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies across the season, was on a three-man shortlist for the prestigious honour.
He beat off competition from Simone Inzaghi, who led Inter to the Ataturk Olympic Stadium showpiece final against City, as well as Luciano Spalletti, who won the Serie A title with Napoli.
In emerging victorious in Turkey on that memorable June evening, Guardiola became the first manager to win two European Trebles in the men’s game.
It helped him surpass the eight other bosses who have won one European men’s Treble, including Celtic’s Jock Stein, Stefan Kovacs of Ajax, Guus Hiddink with PSV, Sir Alex Ferguson with Manchester United, Jose Mourinho with Inter, Bayern Munich’s Jupp Heynckes, Luis Enrique of Barcelona and Hansi Flick of Bayern Munich.
