Cristiano Ronaldo holds big lead over Lionel Messi in pursuit of Globe Soccer Awards double

Cristiano Ronaldo, left, receives his 2019 Globe Soccer Award from Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed. Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo is the frontrunner for both Player of the Year and Player of the Century honours at Sunday’s Dubai Globe Soccer Awards.

The Juventus forward, a regular at the annual event, leads the two categories following the final stage of voting by fans, which concluded at midnight on Monday. Ronaldo is up against Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski for player of the year, while Messi, Ronaldinho and Mohamed Salah contest the player of century award.

Organisers reported on Tuesday that more than 13 million fans participated in that round, taking the total to 21 million. Ronaldo has received 42 per cent of the vote for player of the year – Lewandowski was second with 38 per cent – and 38 per cent for player of the century. Messi sat second, with 24 per cent. The fans’ vote contributes 40 per cent of the overall decision, with the remaining 60 per cent going to a panel of judges.

The awards, organised in collaboration with Dubai Sports Council and Dubai International Sports Conference, take place at Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa, directly after the Sports Conference. On Monday, Lewandowski was confirmed as one of the event's guest speakers.