Manchester City picked up Club of the Year at the 2022 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony on Monday, 17 October, on a night that saw Pep Guardiola’s side showered with plenty of praise.
The Sky Blues beat the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid to the prestigious prize, who came in second and third respectively, but the high-flying Mancunian team received even further recognition on the evening.
City ended up receiving more nominations across the various categories than any other club, with Kevin de Bruyne coming third in the race for the 2022 Ballon d’Or trophy for the best player throughout the previous season.
Despite being beaten by Madrid’s Karim Benzema – who many felt had been long overdue for the honour – the Belgian became the club’s first player to ever be named among the top three players in the world.
Elsewhere, Ederson too came third in the race for the Yashin Trophy – the equivalent award for the best goalkeeper over the course of a season – but was ultimately beaten out by another Madrid player in Thibaut Courtois.
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Given both he and Benzema starred in Los Blancos’ 14th Champions League title, this came as little surprise to those watching on the night.
Nevertheless, seven players different City players were nominated across three categories for City, with Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo, Lucy Bronze, as well as the aforementioned Ederson and KdB all recognised. No club boasted more candidates.
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Bronze – a Euro 2020-winning Lioness who only recently left City for Barcelona – came 10th overall in the Ballon d’Or Feminin 2022, with her fellow England teammate Beth Mead coming in second to Barca’s Alexia Putellas – the only female footballer in history to win the award twice.
Plenty of media figures and fans alike have questioned why City won Club of the Year despite Madrid winning both their domestic La Liga title and the Champions League last season.
However, others have noted that not only did the Manchester team lift their eighth Premier League trophy, but Pep’s side also scored a whopping 150 goals across all competitions – more than any other side in Europe.
Manchester set to host five UEFA EURO 2028 matches – including England’s opening game
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been confirmed to be the host of five matches at the upcoming UEFA EURO tournament in 2028.
This also, crucially, would include England‘s opening match, should they qualify directly.
The joint announcement by Manchester City and Manchester City Council today comes as UEFA has now released key details about the UK & Ireland 2028 competition – which, as it stands, is less than 1,000 days away.
It has been confirmed that the Etihad Stadium – which is known as The City of Manchester Stadium when not relating to Manchester City football club – will host four Group Stage matches across four different groups, offering both local and international football fans the chance to see a range of different national teams in action.
On top of this, Manchester will also be the host a Round of 16 knockout match as the tournament progresses.
UEFA EURO 2028 will kick off at the National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff on Friday 9 June 2028, culminating in the Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 9 July 2028.
Across the UK and Ireland, nine stadiums will host matches during the upcoming tournament – with other northern stadiums including Everton Stadium in Liverpool, and St James’ Park over in Newcastle.
More than three million tickets – as sold by UEFA – are set to be available for the tournament, and more information on this will be issued in due course.
Following an independent assessment, UEFA EURO 2028 is expected to generate up to £3.6 billion in socio-economic benefits for the UK and Ireland between 2028 and 2031, with benefits including job creation, regional growth, and direct spending from international visitors.
The countdown has started in Manchester for #EURO2028!
Five matches are scheduled to be played here – including England's opener if they qualify – and more than 300,000 fans will be welcomed to the city in June 2028.
“We’re a city where football runs deep in our DNA, and we’re counting down the days to UEFA Euro 2028.”
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Sport
Man City to open latest Greater Manchester club shop at Trafford Centre
Danny Jones
Manchester City Football Club are set to open another brand-new store at the Trafford Centre, and just in time for Christmas.
With the festive period approaching, plenty of people will be looking to buy the latest shirts and merch of their beloved team, and with the Blues now a bigger brand than ever, they’ve put plenty of time into levelling up the club shop experience.
Their third in Greater Manchester, all told, it’s also set to be one of their largest to date.
Credit: The Manc Group
Although confirmation of the plans came back in October, City have officially announced themselves in the Trafford Centre this month.
With the hoardings going up over on Peel Avenue – the section of the huge mall arguably most well-known for its multi-storey John Lewis department store – they’ll be opening their doors just next to the branch of Waterstones.
In fact, you definitely can’t miss it because not only is there a giant MCFC badge plastered over the windows, but it also happens to be right next to the big Christmas tree.
This comes after sports and streetwear franchises like Gymshark and Urban Outfitters joined the North West tourist attraction, not to mention the massive Zara and Bershka sites that opened recently, as well as other global names like Pop Mart.
An idea of what the new Man City store in the Trafford Centre could look like, based on the Arndale shop. (Credit: The Manc)
Put simply, there’s been plenty of new arrivals this year, and there are several others to come.
Although we’ve not got an exact opening date just yet, the posters displayed across the window simply read “Coming November”, so Cityzens won’t have to wait long.
Furthermore, job vacancies for retail roles working within the upcoming location are already listed on the official Trafford Centre careers page.
Last but not least, there are scheduled be a number of other new openings in the shopping arcade, leisure and entertainment destination, so keep your eyes peeled on socials for more info soon.
Danny Jones -
19th October 2022 
