Sorry Lionel Messi fans, but Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the best soccer player in the world. At least, according to FIFA. The second The Best FIFA Football Awards were held in London on Monday, and the organization handed out the awards for the best men’s player, best woman’s player and best coach among others. The winners of the awards were determined by national team captains, coaches, and media representatives votes.
“It’s a wonderful accolade. I really want to thank my team-mates. It’s a landmark moment in my career; a moment involving intense emotions.” – said Ronaldo, when asked about his consecutive win. “I’m happy to have won this award tonight, but what I originally wanted was to make a success of my footballing career and I think I’ve achieved that. Obviously, winning trophies, and being one of the players with the most individual awards in history, is a great source of pride. It’s an unforgettable moment in my life and it motivates me to continue performing at the highest level.“
Ronaldo faced competition from Lionel Messi and Neymar for the top prize but ended up winning 43.16% of total votes.
Unfortunately, in the competition for best women’s player, the U.S.’ Carli Lloyd won 16.28% of total votes, which placed her in the second spot behind Netherlands’ Lieke Martens with 21.72% of total votes.
In the category for best men’s coach, Zinedine Zidane got the majority of the votes to win the award in front of Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri. Sarina Wiegman took the award in the women’s category.
Gianluigi Buffon got 42.42% of total votes compared to Manuel Neuer’s 32.32% of total votes and won the award in the category for the best goalkeeper.
When it comes to the awards voted by fans, Olivier Giroud got the Puskás Award for the best goal while the Celtic supporters got the Fan Award.
