LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo was named the 2017 Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year at a star-studded ceremony in London on Monday.
The Portuguese forward, who won last year’s inaugural award, fired Real Madrid to the La Liga title and scored 12 goals as the Spanish giants won the Champions League.
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was named the 2017 Best FIFA Men’s Coach of the Year.
The Frenchman received the award after guiding Real to both Spain’s La Liga title and Europe’s Champions League trophy last season.
Former France star Zidane was the first coach to oversee a successful defence of the European Cup in the Champions League era.
Thousands of football players from around the world voted for their 11 peers who form this season’s FIFA FIFPro World11, which was also revealed in London:
- The Best FIFA Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
- The Best FIFA Women’s Player: Lieke Martens
- The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Zinédine Zidane
- The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman
- The Best FIFA Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
Of great goals and fans
Two awards were voted for directly by football fans from all around the world, who had their say on FIFA.com:
- Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
- Defenders: Dani Alves, Leonardo Bonucci, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos
- Midfielders: Andrés Iniesta, Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić
- Strikers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar
A show to remember
The evening at the London Palladium also included the handover of the FIFA Fair Play Award, which recognised the gesture by Togolese player Francis Koné, who performed life-saving first aid on an opponent – Bohemians 1905’s goalkeeper Martin Berkovec – during a Czech League game in February.
- FIFA Puskás Award: Olivier Giroud
With 36.17% of the 792,062 votes, Olivier Giroud’s incredible scorpion kick for Arsenal against Crystal Palace was chosen as the best goal of the season.
- FIFA Fan Award: Celtic Supporters
The Celtic fans received 55.92% of votes and were commended for the stunning 360-degree card displayed around Celtic Park during the final match of the Scottish League season, paying homage to the 50th anniversary of the club’s European Cup title of 1967.
There was plenty of artistic prowess on stage as well, with the show brilliantly hosted by Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actor Idris Elba and featuring dazzling performances by dance and percussion group Stomp and English rock band Kasabian.
The results:
The winners of the four individual The Best awards were determined through a voting process in which four groups had an equal say: football fans, selected mediarepresentatives and the captains and head coaches of national teams from around the globe. Here is how they voted:
The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2017:
Cristiano Ronaldo: 43.16% of total votes
Lionel Messi: 19.25% of total votes
Neymar: 6.97% of total votes
The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2017:
Lieke Martens: 21.72% of total votes
Carli Lloyd: 16.28% of total votes
Deyna Castellanos: 11.69% of total votes
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2017:
Zinédine Zidane: 46.22% of total votes
Antonio Conte: 11.62% of total votes
Massimiliano Allegri: 8.78% of total votes
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach 2017
Sarina Wiegman: 36.24% of total votes
Nils Nielsen: 12.64% of total votes
Gérard Prêcheur: 9.37% of total votes
The inaugural goalkeeper award was voted for by a panel of FIFA Legends as follows:
The Best FIFA Goalkeeper 2017
Gianluigi Buffon: 42.42% of total votes
Manuel Neuer: 32.32% of total votes
Keylor Navas: 10.10% of total votes
And these are the details for the awards decided by public voting:
FIFA Puskás Award 2017:
Olivier Giroud : 36.17 % of total votes
Oscarine Masukule : 27.48 % of total votes
Deyna Castellanos : 20.47 % of total votes
FIFA Fan Award 2017:
Celtic Supporters: 55.92 % of total votes
Borussia Dortmund supporters: 36.20 % of total votes
FC Copenhagen supporters: 7.88 % of total votes
