Why Man City deserve Club of the Year award no matter what Real Madrid think

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