(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Cristiano Ronaldo capped off a golden year on Friday night, winning his fourth Dubai Globe Soccer Awards Player of the Year Award in a glittering ceremony attended by the who's who of international football at Madinat Jumeirah Dubai. And in a Real Madrid hat-trick, the team also collected the Club of the Year Award while coach Zinedine Zidane was named coach of the year, a press release said.
Real Madrid and Portugal star Ronaldo, who, for the fifth time running was the top scorer in the Uefa Champions League and who finished the year with another title after scoring the winning goal in the Fifa Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, triumphed over a stellar field which included his great rival Lionel Messi of Barcelona, and the man who is tipped as the heir apparent for the title of the world's best player, Brazil and Paris Saint Germain star Neymar.
The three players had emerged as favourites from an incredible list of nominees which included legendary Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Buffon's teammate and Argentina international Paulo Dybala, co-captain of Real Madrid and Spain international Sergio Ramos, and Neymar's teammate at PSG, young superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Ronaldo was unable to attend the gala, but sent his message of thanks over a live video link.
Hosted by Dubai Sports Council, the prestigious and highly anticipated Dubai Globe Soccer Awards took place on the final day of the Dubai International Sports Conference. The Awards acknowledge and celebrate performances both on and off the field and were presented in 13 categories.
The nominees, selected by a jury of international footballing coaches, directors and chairmen included the cream of world soccer vying for the honour of being named the best in the world in their field. Since the establishment of the awards in 2010, the event has become one of the most eagerly anticipated and coveted awards events of the footballing year.
And in the second of their trifecta of victories on Friday night, the coveted best Club of the Year Award was won by Real Madrid ahead of Manchester United and AS Monaco FC.
With Real Madrid taking Club of the Year it was no real surprise then that the man who has steered them to so many titles would take the coach of the year honours.
Zidane took his first Dubai Globe Soccer Awards title, having picked up the Fifa Best Men's Coach Award in October. In his first two seasons as manager, Zidane won the Uefa Champions League title twice, a La Liga title, a Supercopa de Espaa title, the Uefa Super Cup twice and Fifa Club World Cup twice. Zidane was selected for the Award ahead of Chelsea's Antonio Conte, Manchester United's Jos Mourinho and Massimiliano Allegri of Juventus.
The Best Agent of the Year went to Jorge Mendes ahead of Mino Raiola and Alessandro Lucci. Mendes is among the most influential football agents in the world, with clients including Cristiano Ronaldo, David de Gea, Diego Costa, James Rodrguez, and Jos Mourinho, and has been named Best Agent of the Year at the Globe Soccer Awards every year since 2010, with the exception of 2016 when he conceded the title to Mino Raiola. Mendes has again proven his ability on the football transfer market by engineering some of the most important transfers of the season.
The Award for Best referee of the Year was taken by German referee Felix Brych, ahead of Bakary Gassama, Csar Arturo Ramos, Ravshan Irmatov and Sandro Ricci. Brych's performances last season resulted in him being appointed to referee the Uefa Champions League Final 2016/2017.
And in a highlight of the evening for the local and regional audience, the Kooora Best Arab National Team was awarded to Saudi Arabia in recognition of their qualification for their fifth World Cup, while the Kooora Best Arab National Team Coach Award was won by Egypt coach Hector Cuper, who guided the team to World Cup qualification in 2018 after a 28 year wait.
The Sport Business Award was presented to Ferran Soriano in recognition of his achievements as CEO of Manchester City FC and City Football Group, and Vadim Vasilyev was awarded the Football Executive of the Year Award. La Liga took the Best League of the Year award.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid coach Diego Pablo Simeone received the Master Coach Special Award on Thursday in recognition of his remarkable results in guiding Atletico Madrid to winning La Liga and reaching two Champions League finals.
In the Player Career Award category it was joint honours for Francesco Totti and Carles Puyol. Totti, who spent his career at Roma, is regarded as one of the greatest players Italy has produced, while former Barcelona captain and Spain international Puyol was one of the best defenders of his generation and winner of six La Liga trophies and three Champions League titles.
The Coach Career Award was presented to Marcello Lippi. Lippi is the current manager of the China national team and is considered as one the most successful managers in football history.
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