Haaland wins England Footballer of the Year award
During the award ceremony in Manchester on the evening of August 29, Haaland received the Best English Footballer award for the 2022-2023 season. He surpassed five other candidates including Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard (Arsenal), Harry Kane (Tottenham) and two teammates at Man City, Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones. The award was voted and awarded by the PFA, the British Professional Footballers' Association, from the 1973-1974 season.
Haaland won the award for the first time. Before that, Mark Hughes, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Mohamed Salah and De Bruyne were all crowned twice. Alan Shearer personally presented the award to the Norwegian striker.
Last season, Haaland scored 52 goals in all competitions for Man City, including 36 Premier League goals. When asked about Shearer's ability to break the Premier League record of 260 goals, the 23-year-old striker replied: "He has scored a lot of goals and I don't want to look too far ahead. I am trying to enjoy myself. every moment of my life. I'm playing in a really good team and they've helped me a lot. Personally, I have to keep improving."
Haaland also talked more about coach Pep Guardiola's coaching methods. He admits it is stressful at times, as Guardiola always requires his players to work hard every day.
The Best Young Player award for the 2022-2023 season belongs to Bukayo Saka, 21-year-old winger of Arsenal. Last season, Arsenal led 30 of 38 Premier League rounds, before falling to second. Meanwhile, in addition to the Premier League, Man City also won the Champions League and FA Cup, thereby becoming the second English team to win the treble after Man Utd in the 1998-1999 season.
Haaland joined Man City in the summer of 2022, with a purchase price of 62 million USD from Dortmund. After a successful season with the Etihad Stadium team, he was valued at 200 million by Transfermarkt. In the first five games of the 2023-2024 season, Haaland continued his impressive form with three goals.
Aston Villa's Rachel Daly won Women's Player of the Season, while Chelsea's Lauren James won Young Women's Player of the Season. Daly and James have just joined England in the final of the 2023 World Cup on August 20, where they lost 0-1 to Spain.
