Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA best player award for 4th time
Cristiano Ronaldo has won FIFA’s best player award for the fourth time, after Portugal and Real Madrid won both major European titles in 2016.
He beat Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann to complete a sweep of top individual awards.
Ronaldo’s fourth FIFA award closed the gap on five-time winner Messi, the runner-up to each Ronaldo victory, who did not attend the ceremony.
Ronaldo’s 2016 trophy haul includes the European Championship, Champions League, and Club World Cup, plus individual best player awards from UEFA and France Football magazine.
Messi’s Barcelona won the Spanish league and cup double, though he captained Argentina to lose the Copa America final.
Griezmann’s France and Atletico Madrid lost both finals to Ronaldo’s teams.
Voting for the player and coach categories was by national team captains and managers, selected journalists and, for the first time, an online poll of fans.
2016 was quite the year for Ronaldo.
As well as scoring the decisive penalty in the shootout to win the Champions League, rescuing Real with a hat-trick in the final of the Club World Cup, captaining Portugal to Euro 2016 glory and being recognised with a fourth Ballon d’Or, Ronaldo now has something Lionel Messi does not - the honour of being named best FIFA men’s player.
In 2016 he delivered remarkable statistics which included 44 games, 42 goals, 14 assists.
Third best minutes-per-goal rate (83.68) of anyone scoring a minimum of 10 goals across Europe’s top five leagues during 2016, behind Luis Suarez (82.57) and Radamel Falcao (59.6)
Directly involved in 39 La Liga goals in 30 games - 31 scored and nine assists.
Top scorer in the Champions League in 2015-16 with 16 goals, seven more than second-placed Robert Lewandowski.
Ronaldo said: “It’s incredible. I want to thank my teammates of Real Madrid and the coach. Thanks for everything you have done for me. I must thank my family and my whole staff for everything they have given me. 2016 was the best year of my career. I had a lot of doubts, but at the end of it the trophies speak for themselves. They show I’ve lived up to the expectations and I achieved the best I could. This achievement is incredible. I will never forget this year. I’m really happy."
Women player award
Carli Lloyd of the United States won her second straight FIFA’s best woman player award.
Lloyd beat Olympic gold medallist Melanie Behringer of Germany and five-time winner Marta of Brazil.
Women’s coaching award
Germany did win the women’s coaching award as Silvia Neid earned her second FIFA prize. She also won the 2010 award.
Men’s coaching award
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri, who has also led his side to the last 16 of the Champions League this season, won the award ahead of Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane, who lifted the Champions League in his first season in charge, and Portugal’s Fernando Santos, who led his team to an unexpected success at Euro 2016.
“What happened last year was something strange. The God of football said Leicester must win,” said Ranieri, who was in his first season at the unfashionable provincial club widely tipped for relegation.
Puskas award (best goal)
The best goal of 2016 was, officially, scored by Penang’s Mohd Faiz Subri.
It came in the Malaysia Super League, the forward converting a superb, swirling free-kick from 35 yards which started out heading towards the top left corner but ended up in the top right.
Fan award
The fan award went to supporters of Liverpool and German club Borussia Dortmund, who together sang a moving rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ - an anthem adopted by both teams before their Europa League quarter-final in April. The match came the day before the 27th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died.
Fair Play award
Colombian side Atletico Nacional were given the fair play award for their part in the aftermath of the plane crash which killed 19 players and staff of Brazilian side Chapecoense.
Chapecoense were en route to play the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana final when the plane crashed, killing 71 people.
Atletico Nacional said the title should be awarded to Chapecoense. FIFA recognised their “spirit of peace, understanding and fair play.”
FIFPro World XI
Neuer (Bayern Munich); Dani Alves (Barcelona/Juventus), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Marcelo (Real Madrid); Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona); Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid).