Cristiano Ronaldo and Lieke Martens cap dream season at The Best FIFA Football Awards - Media Release
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- Cristiano Ronaldo and Lieke Martens named The Best FIFA Men's and Women's players
- Italian great Gianluigi Buffon claims inaugural The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award in London
- Zinedine Zidane and Sarina Wiegman voted The Best coaches of the season
Following an incredible season of continental glory – at club and national team level, respectively – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lieke Martens today picked up football’s top individual accolades at The Best FIFA Football Awards™ in London.
Winner of the inaugural The Best Men’s Player award in January 2017, the Portuguese star was recognised by FIFA as the player of the year for the fifth time in his career, while 24-year-old Martens claimed her maiden award. Both players’ coaches on the way to their European titles – Real Madrid CF’s Zinedine Zidane and the Netherlands’ Sarina Wiegman – were also voted The Best.
The second edition of football’s official and most prestigious awards ceremony also introduced a new individual prize: The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award, given to Italy and Juventus FC’s Gianluigi Buffon, who was also chosen as the goalkeeper of the FIFA FIFPro World11.
Summary of the season’s individual awards presented at the London Palladium this evening:
Team of the season
Thousands of football players from around the world voted for their 11 peers who form this season’s FIFA FIFPro World11, which was also revealed in London:
- The Best FIFA Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
- The Best FIFA Women’s Player: Lieke Martens
- The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Zinedine Zidane
- The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman
- The Best FIFA Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
Of great goals and fans
Two awards were voted for directly by football fans from all around the world, who had their say on FIFA.com:
- Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
- Defenders: Dani Alves, Leonardo Bonucci, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos
- Midfielders: Andres Iniesta, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric
- Strikers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar
A show to remember
The evening at the London Palladium also included the handover of the FIFA Fair Play Award, which recognised the gesture by Togolese player Francis Kone, who performed life-saving first aid on an opponent – Bohemians 1905’s goalkeeper Martin Berkovec – during a Czech League game in February.
- FIFA Puskás Award: Olivier Giroud
With 36.17% of the 792,062 votes, Olivier Giroud’s incredible scorpion kick for Arsenal against Crystal Palace was chosen as the best goal of the season.
FIFA Fan Award: Celtic SupportersThe Celtic fans received 55.92% of votes and were commended for the stunning 360-degree card displayed around Celtic Park during the final match of the Scottish League season, paying homage to the 50th anniversary of the club’s European Cup title of 1967.
There was plenty of artistic prowess on stage as well, with the show brilliantly hosted by Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actor Idris Elba and featuring dazzling performances by dance and percussion group Stomp and English rock band Kasabian.
The results:
The winners of the four individual The Best awards were determined through a voting process in which four groups had an equal say: football fans, selected media representatives and the captains and head coaches of national teams from around the globe. Here is how they voted:
The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2017:
Cristiano Ronaldo: 43.16% of total votes
Lionel Messi: 19.25% of total votes
Neymar: 6.97% of total votes
The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2017:
Lieke Martens: 21.72% of total votes
Carli Lloyd: 16.28% of total votes
Deyna Castellanos: 11.69% of total votes
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2017:
Zinedine Zidane: 46.22% of total votes
Antonio Conte: 11.62% of total votes
Massimiliano Allegri: 8.78% of total votes
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach 2017
Sarina Wiegman: 36.24% of total votes
Nils Nielsen: 12.64% of total votes
Gérard Prêcheur: 9.37% of total votes
The inaugural goalkeeper award was voted for by a panel of FIFA Legends as follows:
The Best FIFA Goalkeeper 2017
Gianluigi Buffon: 42.42% of total votes
Manuel Neuer: 32.32% of total votes
Keylor Navas: 10.10% of total votes
And these are the details for the awards decided by public voting:
FIFA Puskás Award 2017:
Olivier Giroud : 36.17 % of total votes
Oscarine Masukule : 27.48 % of total votes
Deyna Castellanos : 20.47 % of total votes
FIFA Fan Award 2017:
Celtic Supporters: 55.92 % of total votes
Borussia Dortmund supporters: 36.20 % of total votes
FC Copenhagen supporters: 7.88 % of total votes
The voting procedure for each of the awards was supervised and monitored by the independent observer PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Switzerland. For more details about the voting process for each award, consult the Rules of Allocation.
For an even more detailed breakdown of the voting results, together with reactions from the winners and inside stories from this evening’s awards show, visit FIFA.com or watch exclusive videos on FIFA’s YouTube channel.
Visit The Best FIFA Football Awards page on Facebook too, and join the discussion about the winners of this year’s prizes by using the hashtag #TheBest.