Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi triumphed at the seventh edition of the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Sunday, taking home the prizes for best team and best player.
Messi had travelled from Argentina to attend the ceremony.
“It’s very nice to receive these awards, but I always say that the team makes it possible,” said Messi. “It’s been an extraordinary year.”
Read more: Neymar says 'no, not that' to question about Man City move with Pep Guardiola – transfer talk
Barcelona won five titles in 2015 – the La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
Only the Spanish Super Cup eluded them with a loss to Athletic Bilbao.
Belgium coach Marc Wilmots was named best manager while Benfica took the award for best club academy.
Italy’s Andrea Pirlo and England’s Frank Lampard were lauded with career achievement awards. Agent Jorge Mendes was honoured as best agent and Saudi Arabia’s Yasser Al Shahrani was named the GCC player of the year.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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