Real Madrid might not like it, but Manchester City are fully deserving of their Club of the Year award.
City were named the 2022 Club of the Year at the Ballon d'Or awards on Monday, capping a successful evening for the club. City had more nominations across the different categories than any other club, while Kevin de Bruyne was named the third best men's player in the world. Erling Haaland and Riyad Mahrez came 10th and 12th respectively in the men's rankings, while Ederson came third in the Yashin award for goalkeepers.
There was some surprise though - not least from Real Madrid themselves - that City were named the Club of the Year. City beat out Madrid (third) and Liverpool (second) to the prize having won a fourth Premier League title in five seasons back in May, playing extraordinary football and breaking records along the way.
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Pep Guardiola's side won the title with 93 points, the sixth-highest points tally in Premier League history. They did so by scoring 100 goals, the highest in the division, while in all competitions they found the back of the net on 150 occasions, more than any other side in Europe's top five leagues.
However, many people believe that Real Madrid should have won the award, not City. Not least goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who reportedly said: "When Manchester City won the trophy for the best club? We looked at each other and laughed."
The Spanish giants won La Liga at a counter having secured their title with four matches to spare, while in Europe they eliminated City with an astonishing comeback in the Champions League semi-finals before winning the competition for a record 14th time.
If the award criteria was solely based on trophies won then Madrid would be shoe-ins, but it is not. The prize also takes into account women's and youth teams, recognising the achievements of a club as a whole.
Last season Brian Barry-Murphy's EDS side won the Premier League 2 title for a second successive year, the quality of his side reflected by the fact that a number of young players - including Rico Lewis and Josh Wilson-Esbrand - have made first-team debuts over the past 12 months.
The U18s won both the U18 Premier League North and National titles, while City Women won the Continental Cup for a fourth time and reached the Women's FA Cup final. A number of City's key players last season - including Keira Walsh, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly and Georgia Stanway - were instrumental in England winning EURO 2022.
And let's not forget how well City men's team played for much of last season, even if they did stutter a little in the final months of the campaign and only ended up winning one trophy.
City's class of '22 were arguably the most dominating, controlling team in Premier League history, their regular use of a false nine allowing them to outnumber opponents in key areas and cede little possession. Over in Spain, Real Madrid never entirely convinced after Christmas, as shown by their reliance on late goals both domestically and in Europe to salvage wins.
When the whole picture is taken in account, there should be no complaints about City being named Club of the Year.
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