Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski are among those shortlisted for men’s player of the year at this month’s Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, with Lucy Bronze and Alexia Putellas nominated for best women's player.
The winners of each category will be announced at the 12th staging of the awards, to take place at the Armani Pavilion in Armani Hotel Dubai on December 27.
Voted by fans, the candidates now proceed to the second round of voting, which closes on December 20. The winners of the 12 categories will then be chosen by the public and an international jury of sports coaches, directors and club presidents, with the prizes announced at the event.
There will also be a separate honour for Player Career Award, presented last year to Spanish World Cup winners Iker Casillas and Gerard Pique. The awards are held in partnership with the Dubai Sports Council, and form part of the Dubai International Sports Conference.
The most highly anticipated categories are the Best Men’s Player of the Year and Best Women’s Player of the Year. In the men’s, Manchester United’s Ronaldo goes up against Paris Saint-Germain duo Messi and Mbappe, Liverpool’s Salah, Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski, and Real Madrid counterpart Karim Benzema. Ronaldo, a six-time winner in that category, was last year voted Player of the Century.
In the women’s, Manchester City defender Bronze will be looking to replicate her 2019 win, but faces competition from Chelsea’s Samantha Kerr, Barcelona trio Alexia Putellas, Jennifer Hermoso and Lieke Martens, United States and Orlando Pride star Alex Morgan. Putellas won the 2021 Ballon d'Or in October.
Meanwhile, European champions Chelsea, 2019/20 Premier League winners Manchester City, and current Asian champions Al Hilal, of Saudi Arabia, have been shortlisted for best men’s club.
The finalists for each award were announced on Monday. A selection of the categories are below:
Fans can help choose this year’s winners at vote.globesoccer.com.
