ISTANBUL – Cristiano Ronaldo was named player of the century on Sunday at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards.
Defeating Barcelona’s Leo Messi and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Ronaldo was voted best player of the 2000s by a 23-person jury, including coaches and former players and worldwide fan votes.
“CRISTIANO RONALDO presented with the PLAYER OF THE CENTURY 2001-2020 Globe Soccer Award,” the Dubai Global Soccer Awards said on Twitter.
The five-time UEFA Champions League winner (four with Real Madrid, one with Man Utd) led the Portugal national team to win their first-ever major title, the UEFA EURO 2016.
Ronaldo, who is also the captain of Portugal, scored 102 goals for his nation.
He bagged the English Premier League title with the Red Devils for three consecutive years (2007, 2008 and 2009).
A Juventus player since 2018, Ronaldo became the Italian champion twice as he scored 81 goals in 103 games for the Italian club.
The superstar also claimed two of the Best FIFA Men’s Player awards, five Ballon d’Or awards, and was chosen the UEFA best player in Europe three times.
Despite only being 20 years into the current century, Ronaldo was not the only individual to be celebrated with an award spanning across the 100-year period.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola won the coach of the century award, following his emphatic reigns in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich before his move to the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes picked up one of the stranger accolades of the ceremony, with the agent of the century trophy.
Ronaldo’s former club Real Madrid were labelled as the club of the century, after winning five Champions League titles and seven LaLiga’s during the last 20 years.
Other award winners at the ceremony included Champions League winners Bayern Munich, who won the club of the year award for 2020. Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski was crowned player of the year, beating Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino was present at the ceremony and addressed the audience at the 15th Dubai International Sports Conference.
The 35-year-old Ronaldo has shown no signs of ageing after he scored a huge 44 goals for club and country in 2020.
Only Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski scored more than the former Real Madrid and Manchester United attacker.
Ronaldo’s rival Lionel Messi, who was snubbed at the awards ceremony, fell short of the pair with just 26 goals for Barcelona and Argentina this year.
