Ederson was voted third in the Yashin Trophy – named after legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin - on Monday evening.
The award was established in 2019 and is given to the best goalkeeper of the year by the magazine France Football as part of the illustrious Ballon d’Or ceremony.
The City stopper was touched to earn such an accolade but stressed that the achievements of the team on the whole are reason for the praise he’s receiving.
And, despite Sunday’s frustrating Premier League defeat to Liverpool, further honours are at the forefront of his mind as the season continues against Brighton this weekend, kick-off 15:00 (UK time).
He said: “Of course, my first priority are the collective conquests and consequently this comes shortly after [receiving individual praise].
“But having these collective achievements, this helps in the process and makes you closer.
“This is my objective, my focus, I’m focused on the collective achievements of the team and this will be a consequence [earning personal plaudits].”
MANCHESTER CITY WIN CLUB OF THE YEAR
After finishing among the honours in the Yashin Trophy, Ederson admits he would love to follow in the footsteps of Brazilian legends like Ronaldo (1997 & 2002), Rivaldo (1999), Ronaldinho (2005) and Kaka (2007) by one day winning the main Ballon d’Or.
But he knows it’s harder for goalkeepers to emerge victorious.
He added: “When I was a kid, I didn’t have the notion of what it was - a Ballon d’Or - because during those times, we used to play a lot in the streets and have fun.
“As time went by, I was gaining more knowledge. Rivaldo won, Ronaldo won, Kaká won. So that was when I knew the size and the importance of the Ballon d’Or.
“It’s very gratifying to see Brazilian players winning these.
“It’s very hard, in football, with a lot of these exceptional players. But with the recognition of Brazilian players that won, I was very happy, and that makes us know more about it.
“We know how hard it is to conquer the Ballon d’Or and today everybody dreams of making a wonderful season so you can conquer it.
“Well, these are goals. These are goals that I intend to reach, I will work to try and reach them. I know how hard it is, but I’m working well and I’m very focused.
“Of course, many times things don’t go the way we want, but when they go, in many times they go very well.
“So I will keep working, putting effort and dedicating myself to my maximum so one day I can conquer it.
“It’s way harder for a goalkeeper [to win the Ballon d’Or], because the main target and the joy of the game, for the fans, is when someone scores a goal. And us keepers we are there not to let that happen.
“For us it is harder, when you look to a player that scores 30, 40 goals in a season, he ends up standing out more than a goalkeeper that makes a great season so I think that this target is much harder for a goalkeeper.
“But I believe that it’s not impossible. I think we will have keepers winning it. Yeah, sure. I work hard for this, I dedicate myself to this.”
