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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has been named the men's Football Writers' Association footballer of the year.
Haaland won the award by a huge margin following his blistering start to life in English football at the Etihad. The Norweigan has bagged 51 goals in 47 games across competitions.
He has been key for Manchester City as they pursue a continental treble. Seventy-two percent of the votes went the forward's way after he was being closely run by Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka.
Erling Haaland is leading the goalscoring charts in the Premier League with 35 strikes in 32 games. This is a record for a player in a single season of the English top flight. Saka came second in the voting, with his Gunners teammate in third. Meanwhile, Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne came fourth, while Manchester United's Marcus Rashford finishing fifth.
Records and achievements keep coming, with Pep Guardiola's side reaping the rewards of luring Haaland from Borussia Dortmund last summer. He will be instrumental for the Cityzens as they chase the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and FA Cup.
Erling Haaland's exceptional debut season in English football is unmatched. He's only 22 and has plenty of years to win more awards.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola compares Erling Haaland with Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester City manager Guardiola lauded Haaland as a machine, comparing him with Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the FWA award twice with Manchester United. He said (via Sky Sports):
"In terms of the thesis of scoring goals. He's quite similar in terms of Cristiano, but Messi is the more complete player. Messi can play wherever while Cristano and Erling are machines. Erling knows those two guys dominated over two decades not just one or two seasons, winning titles and doing everything."
Ronaldo dominated the Premier League during his time with the Red Devils. He bagged 145 goals in 346 games across competitions during two spells at Old Trafford.
Haaland has a long way to go in replicating Ronaldo's goalscoring feats, though. The Portuguese icon has scored 713 goals in 965 games for the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Sporting CP.
However, you wouldn't put it past the Norweigan achieving so, given his prolific form for City. The forward sits on 186 goals in 238 games. He has adapted to life at the Etihad with ease.
