Dubai: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Mohammed Salah are among the four confirmed finalists for the upcoming Dubai Globe Soccer Awards scheduled to take place here on December 27.
For the first time in over 10 years, the finalists have been entirely chosen by the fans. Soccer supporters from all over the world have voted for their favourite international players, clubs, coaches and agents, shortlisting international names in the seven categories. The winner of the eighth category – the Player Career Award – will be announced on the night itself.
Held in partnership with the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), this year’s Dubai Globe Soccer Awards will be a special edition due to the impact of Covid-19 on the world of football. It will still recognise the best talent of 2020, but it will also highlight the sport’s legendary figures from the past 20 years.
The DSC and Globe Soccer Awards will strengthen their 12-year relationship by staging the annual edition of the Dubai International Sports Conference prior to the awards’ ceremony. The Dubai International Sports Conference, which has hosted over 200 speakers since its first edition, will once again welcome some of the football’s most prominent international players.
Juventus FC’s Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Messi have both been shortlisted for Player of the Century 2001-2020 and Player of the Year 2020. Alongside the two stars in the Player of the Century category, is Liverpool and Egypt’s icon Salah and Brazilian great Ronaldinho.
Recognising the players who have showed skills beyond expectations during this unexpected year is Bayern Munich’s Lewandowski, who has polled a tremendous number of votes in this category and is emerging as one of this year’s most popular players.
After displaying success season after season, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have been shortlisted for Club of the Century 2001-2020 and also Club of the Year 2020. Messi’s club Barcelona has also been shortlisted by the fans for Club of the Century 2001-2020 alongside Al Ahli. Salah’s club, Liverpool, is the third nominee in the Club of the Year 2020 category.
The second round of voting is now open to choose the winner in seven of the categories. The public can vote through vote.globesoccer.com starting Tuesday, with the winners unveiled at the ceremony on December 27. Voting will take place on Globe Soccer’s website, on the new event title sponsor TikTok, as well as via the media partners platform, Kooora, in the Arab region.
The winners will be chosen by the fans and the Globe Soccer Jury, which comprises a panel of leading industry experts.
FINALISTS
Player of the Century: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus FC), Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Ronaldinho (Brazil), Mohammed Salah (Liverpool)
Coach of the Century: Alex Ferguson (former Manchester United), Josep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
Club of the Century: Al Ahli, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Agent of the Century: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes and Mino Raiola
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich) and Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool)