Al-Nassr’s Christiano Ronaldo Earns Big Wins While Lionel Messi Gets Snubbed 

At the Globe Soccer Awards on Friday, Cristiano Ronaldo took home three prizes, but Lionel Messi—the Al-Nassr star’s enduring rival—was left out. In addition to winning the Maradona Award for highest goalscorer in 2023, he also took home the highest Middle East Player and Fans’ Favorite Player of the Year titles.

Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Aitana Bonmati received awards in other places. Bellingham took home the Powerhouse Emerging Player trophy, Bonmati took home the Best Women’s Player honor, and Haaland—apparently in a slight to Messi—won the Best Men’s Player title.

Rodri won the award for the best midfield player, and Ederson, an award for the best goalkeeper. Pep Guardiola earned a hat-trick of victories for Manchester City by winning the Best Coach title. With Nassr, Ronaldo has been in incredible shape ever since moving to Saudi Arabia.

He was honored at the occasion because in his 44 games with the team, he has scored 38 goals and provided 13 assists. With an incredible 54 goals, he also celebrated concluding 2023 as the world’s leading striker for both club and country. He will surely celebrate his accomplishment and add his newfound awards to his already huge trophy collection.

Prior to ‘The Last Dance’ on February 1 against Messi and his Inter Miami team, the Portugal international will next be seen in action when Nassr plays Shanghai Shenhua in a friendly later this month.