Erling Haaland wins European Player of the Year

On the evening of August 31, UEFA held the 2023/24 Champions League group draw and announced individual awards for the 2022/23 season.

Erling Haaland was honored for the first time at Europe's prestigious award

The most notable category at the event was the “Best Player in Europe” award, with Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, and Lionel Messi being the three shortlisted names. As a result, Haaland beat out two competitors to receive the title. This is the first time in his career that the Norwegian striker has been honored with the prestigious European award.

In his first season with Man City, Erling Haaland exploded with 52 goals in 53 matches in all competitions. In particular, he helped Man City win the historic "treble" of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. This is an important factor that helped this star surpass Lionel Messi, who won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina and his teammate at Man City.

"I feel very happy to win the treble at the age of 22. I am living the dream. Honestly, since I was a child, I dreamed of standing on the podium. To achieve this feat with my teammates is something special. This is the motivation for me to continue to strive and aspire to win more titles," Erling Haaland shared after being honored.

In the category of “Best Men’s Coach of the Year”, Man City coach Pep Guardiola was honored for his achievements in helping Man City win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. In the category of “Best Women’s Player of the Year” of UEFA, the winner was Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona Women’s Club). Meanwhile, female coach Sarina Wiegman received the award for Best Women’s Coach after winning the European Championship and finishing runner-up in the World Cup with the England team.

LAM VU

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