Norway’s Erling Haaland was named UEFA’s best player of the year on Thursday in Monaco. His Spanish coach at Manchester City Pep Guardiola received the UEFA Best Coach of the Year trophy for his side.
The 23-year-old striker, a great architect of the historic treble Cup / championship / Champions League achieved by Manchester City by having scored 52 goals in all competitions, was preferred to his Belgian teammate Kevin De Bruyne and the Argentinian Lionel Messi.
Aitana Bonmati of Spain has been awarded the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year award. The 25-year-old Spanish midfielder, winner of the Champions League with Barcelona then the World Cup with Spain, being named best player of both competitions each time, beat her compatriot Olga Carmona and Australian Sam Kerr .
The Barça player also wanted to say a few words that were close to her heart concerning the scandal of the “forced kiss” in Spain, of the now former president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales, on the player Jennifer Hermoso. “We are very happy to have been crowned world champions but things happened. Things that in this society must not be allowed and go unpunished. For Jenni (Jennifer Hermoso) and all the women we are with you,” Bonmati said upon receiving her award.
