Manchester City star Erling Haaland has been named Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 2022-23 on Friday, May 12. The Norwegian Striker beat the likes of Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard and his teammate Kevin De Bruyne to bag the prestigious award on his debut season in English Premier League. He also became the only third Manchester City player to win this award after Raheem Sterling (2019) and Ruben Dias (2021).
The 22-year-old forward recorded 82% of the votes as he won the award by a record margin of votes. Arsenal's young forward Bukayo Saka finished second and attacking midfielder Martin Odeggaard came third. Haaland's teammate at Manchester City Kevin De Bruyne came fourth ahead of Manchester United's Marcus Rashford to make it into the top-five chart.
Haaland joined Manchester City in May 2022 and is enjoying the sensational season by breaking big records every gameweek. He broke Alan Shearer and Andy Cole's 34-goal record for the most goals in a single season when he recorded his 35th goal of the season during the West Ham game on May 4. Haaland thanked his teammates and head coach Pep Guardiola to help him win the biggest individual award in English football.
"To win the Football Writers' Award in my first season in English football is an honour. I try every single day to be the best I can be, and to be recognised like this means a lot to me. I have loved my time at City so far -- my teammates are incredible, and they provide me with the chances to score goals. I want to thank all of them, because I could not have won this award without them.
"I also owe so much to Pep [Guardiola] and the team behind the team here at City. Everybody has been so good to me since I joined and I have never worked with such top professionals. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. It's a real honour to have won this award. I am now focused on ensuring I finish the season as strongly as possible and helping City win trophies," Haaland told Manchester City website.
Meanwhile, Chelsea's star forward Sam Kerr won the Women's FWA Footballer of the Year award for the second consecutive season, beating Aston Villa's Rachel Daly.
