(Football news) Manchester City this season have won the Club of the Year award at the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony. The award goes to City for receiving the highest number of nominations across the different categories at the Ballon d’Or and also saw them finish ahead of Liverpool in second and Real Madrid, who surprisingly finished third. In addition to the Club of the Year award, City player Kevin De Bruyne finished third in the race for the Ballon d'Or and Ederson was also third in the Yashin Trophy. Pep Guardiola first secured the 2021/22 Premier League title, amassing a tally of 93 points, and earned widespread praise and plaudits for the quality of pandits.
It was Manchester City’s fourth league success in the last five seasons and last season it was achieved in thrilling fashion as City held off a strong challenge from Liverpool to seal the crown with a 3-2 win against Aston Villa on the final day of the season. Along the way, City also scored 150 goals across all competitions which was way more than any other side in Europe. They also won the award thanks to their academy as Gareth Taylor’s squad lifted the Continental Cup thanks to a 3-1 victory over Chelsea in the final to win the trophy for a fourth time with City also helped the Women's team reach the Women’s FA Cup final.
City’s Elite Development Squad were crowned Premier League 2 champions for a second successive season with Brian Barry-Murphy’s squad earning plaudits for the achievement with several members of the squad going on to make their first-team debuts. It was a season to remember for City’s Under-18s too as Ben Wilkinson’s youngsters were crowned both Premier League Under-18 North and National champions, sealing the double for the second season in succession.
Commenting on the award, City CEO Ferran Soriano said: “This is a proud day for Manchester City. To be named Club of the Year is an honour and further underlines the strength of this club across both men’s and women’s football. We pride ourselves on playing beautiful football and winning matches. We are proud of the quality of the players and all the staff behind the scenes who help make us successful. This award is recognition of the hard work and dedication found in every department of our organisation. We will continue to strive for success but today I want everyone connected to Manchester City Football Club to take a step back and feel proud of all we achieved last season.”
