LONDON: Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo was named the world’s best male player at the 2017 Best FIFA Football Awards.
The 32-year-old Portuguese international beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar.
“The second consecutive The Best award comes after a superlative season in which he (Ronaldo) won the Spanish league, the FIFA Club World Cup and another UEFA Champions League crown – remarkably finishing as the competition’s leading marksman for the fifth straight season,” FIFA.com said in announcing the award.
The award ceremony was held at the Palladium Theatre in central London.
Netherlands and Barcelona attacker Lieke Martens was named Best FIFA Women’s Player for 2017.
The best men’s coach award went to Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane while the Netherlands’ Sarina Wiegman won in the female coach category.
British Premiere League club Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud won the Puskas award for the best goal, while Scottish club Celtic won the fan award for honoring the club’s ‘Lisbon Lions’ with a display on the 50th anniversary of their 1967 European Cup win.
The Togolese forward of Czech team FC Zbrojovka Brno, Francis Kone, won the Fair Play award.
The Best FIFA Football Awards have been presented annually by world football governing body FIFA since 2016.
