5 Reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo will win the Player of the Century Award ahead of Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah and Ronaldinho all stand a chance of winning a once-in-a-lifetime honor on 28th December. All four superstars have been included in the final shortlist for the Globe Soccer Player of the Century award.
Everyone knows that the race for this one-of-a-kind prize will most likely boil down to Ronaldo and Messi, two of the greatest players of all-time. The duo has shared the prestigious Ballon d'Or 11 times in the last 12 years so lifting this award will help the winner stand out from his rival.
Though some might make a case for Ronaldinho for the prize, in awards which allow for public voting, we can expect Ronaldo and Messi, the players with the most fans in the world to come out on top.
The duo was also recently feted by France Football, who included both in the Ballon d'Or all-time XI, alongside absolute legends like Pele, Maradona, Beckenbauer and Xavi. Though both of them missed out on The Best FIFA Men's Player Award to Robert Lewandowski, no one can challenge them for the Player of the Century honor.
Before we make our case for why Cristiano Ronaldo will win the Player of the Century Award ahead of Messi, let's take a quick look at what are Globe Soccer Awards.
What are the Globe Soccer Awards?
As per the website -
"The annual Globe Soccer Awards were established in 2010 with the aim of recognising not just the best players and coaches, but also the people who work behind the scenes who had not previously been acknowledged."
The Awards are organized by EFAA (European Association of Player's Agents) and the ECA (European Club Association). Since starting in 2010 with three main categories they now offer recognition in seven categories for players, agents, and clubs. An official Gala Dinner is held every year for the same in Dubai.
This year, a special edition award - Player of The Century (2001-2020) will also be bestowed upon the player who ends with the highest votes by the deadline.
Now that we have a fair idea of what the awards are, let's take a look at the 5 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo will win the Player of the Century Award (2001-2020) ahead of Messi:
#5 Unparalleled success in the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid
When it comes to the Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo is the undisputed king. In the continental competition, he is currently: the all-time top scorer, the all-time top assist provider, the player with most goals in a single campaign, and five-time winner of the trophy.
Cristiano Ronaldo also has numerous other records in the competition to his name. He was the fulcrum of Real Madrid's unprecedented hat-trick of title wins between 2016 and 2018. In his four title-winning campaign with the Spanish giants, he scored 60 times, including three goals in the four finals.
The 35-year-old has 134 goals to his name in the competition currently and has provided a much-needed boost to the offense of every club he has played for in the competition.
He is now on the verge of breaking the all-time appearance record of former teammate Iker Casillas in the competition, which he'll be able to surpass if he can guide Juventus past the last 16.
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