Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA best player award for 4th time

Cristiano Ronaldo received FIFA’s best player award for the fourth time, after Portugal and Real Madrid won both major European titles in 2016.

Ronaldo got 34.54 per cent of total voting points in a 23-candidate ballot. Messi received 26.42 per cent, and third-place Griezmann got 7.53 per cent. Voting was by national team captains and coaches, selected media, and fans online.

Key Points

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 included 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.

Ronaldo’s coaches for club and country were beaten by Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, who earned the men’s coaching prize for a stunning English Premier League title.

Ranieri collected his trophy from Diego Maradona, who earlier played in an exhibition match with other retired greats at FIFA headquarters.

Like Ronaldo, Carli Lloyd of the United States won a FIFA player prize for the second year in a row.

Lloyd won despite Germany midfielder Melanie Behringer playing on the Olympic gold medal-winning team. Five-time winner Marta was runner-up and Behringer was third.

Germany did win the women’s coaching prize as Silvia Neid earned her second FIFA prize, after also winning the 2010 award. Neid beat two previous winners- Pia Sundhage of Sweden, the Olympic silver medalist, and last year’s winner, Jill Ellis of the United States.

The Puskas Award for best goal was won by Mohd Faiz Subri, who scored with a wildly swerving long—range free kick for Malaysian club Penang.

FIFA made its Fair Play Award to Atletico Nacional, the Colombian club which was scheduled to host Chapecoense in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final on Nov. 30.

Current Affairs 9th January, 2017
Current Affairs Round Up Bullet Points, December, 2016

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