Cristiano Ronaldo has ended 2014 in style by collecting the Best Player of the Year accolade at the Globe Soccer
Awards in Dubai.Ronaldo has enjoyed arguably the greatest year of his
career, breaking the record for the number of goals in a single Champions League season as he led Real Madrid to their 10th title, while maintaining his better than a goal-per-game ratio across five prolific years in Spain.
Ronaldo is hotly tipped to follow up this success by claiming the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the second year in a row, and third time overall. He faces competition from Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer for the prize, which is announced on January 12.
The Portuguese, who was in attendance to collect the award at the Atlantis Palm Hotel, is hoping success in Dubai will be replicated in Zurich.
He said: “I hope that it can be a good signal but I’m not worried about that. The people who vote know what
they have to do. I just feel happy it’s one more trophy for my dedication and hard work.I want to say thank you to the people at Real Madrid,the players, the coach – we had a fantastic season, we won four trophies and we are one of the best teams in the world.La Decima was a special moment as Real Madrid have looked forward to winning it.To win this award is one of the great pleasures, I am very proud.”
Former Sporting Lisbon and Manchester United star Ronaldo is adamant there is no added pressure on his shoulders despite his standing in the game.“No, no pressure,” he added. “I don’t have pressure because things come naturally to me. I don’t have to show anything to anyone. I am happy, I do what I like,to play football, to score goals, to make assists and help
show we [Real Madrid] are one of the best teams in the world.”
The Globe Soccer Awards, an event that has been streamed live on Goal, has a number of other categories promoting the very best football has had to offer across a hugely successful year.