Cristiano Ronaldo clinches Maradona Award for Best Goalscorer

Dubai: Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo clinched the Maradona Award for Best Goalscorer ahead of this month’s highly esteemed Dubai Globe Soccer Awards. The 38-year-old striker secured the award by outperforming rivals Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, adding this achievement to his impressive list of individual successes.

Ronaldo’s latest accolade capped a magical 12 months for the evergreen superstar, who has already scored 34 times in as many league games for Saudi Pro League title challengers Al Nassr. The world’s all-time record goalscorer, with 873 strikes currently to his name, is also in contention to land the Best Men’s Player, Best Middle East Player, and Fans’ Favourite Player at the glitzy 14th Dubai Globe Soccer Awards ceremony, supported by Dubai Sports Council and presented this year by Nakheel, to be at Atlantis on January 19.

70 million votes

The second and final round of voting across the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards’ 11 main categories and six digital categories, including the inaugural Serie A awards, saw more than 50 million votes cast by football fans worldwide. The avalanche of votes has resulted in an accumulative total exceeding 70 million throughout the entire process — double the number of votes registered in 2022.

Globe Soccer’s Official Jury — made up of more than 30 key football industry figures, including Francesco Totti, Iker Casillas, Luis Figo, and Marcello Lippi — were also involved in the final selection process, which closed on December 28.