World Soccer Awards 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo named Player of the Year December 1, 2016

Cristiano Ronaldo, a European champion for both club and country in 2016, is World Soccer’s World Player of the Year.

A winner in 2008, 2013 and 2014, he has now matched the achievement of Lionel Messi by claiming the award for a record fourth time.

The World Player award is recognition of the most successful year of Ronaldo’s career. After scoring the winning penalty when Real Madrid beat city rivals Atletico in a shoot-out to win the Champions League with Real Madrid, he then captained Portugal to their first international success, at Euro 2016.

Despite Ronaldo’s achievements in 2016, he was not a runaway winner of the award. Last year’s winner Messi ran his rival close in this year’s poll, despite losing the Copa America Final with Argentina.

Antoine Griezmann’s role in Atletico’s run to the Champions League Final and France’s strong performance at Euro 2016 was recognised with a third-place finish, ahead of Barcelona’s Luis Suarez, in fourth, and Gareth Bale, a Champions League winner with Real Madrid and Euro 2016 semi-finalist with Wales, in fifth.

A sixth-place finish for Barcelona’s Neymar – also an Olympic champion with Brazil – ensured that the top six all play in Spain’s La Liga.

Riyad Mahrez, in seventh, was one of three Leicester players, along with N’Golo Kante and Jamie Vardy, in the top 10.

The only Bundesliga player in the top 10 was Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich, who was the German league’s top scorer last season.

The awards were decided by votes from a panel of 100 journalists and pundits who chose their top 10 players of the year, with points awarded to each selection. Details of how each panel member voted can be found here.

WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR

1 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid & Portugal 842

2 Lionel Messi Barcelona & Argentina 712

3 Antoine Griezmann Atletico Madrid & France 559

4 Luis Suarez Barcelona & Uruguay 498

5 Gareth Bale Real Madrid & Wales 497

6 Neymar Barcelona & Brazil 405

7 Riyad Mahrez Leicester City & Algeria 134

8 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich & Poland 117

9 N’Golo Kante Leicester City/Chelsea & France 93

10 Jamie Vardy Leicester City & England 87

11 Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich & Germany 75

12 Pepe Real Madrid & Portugal 73

13= Andres Iniesta Barcelona & Spain 69

13= Toni Kroos Real Madrid & Germany 69

15= Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City & Belgium 67

15= Alexis Sanchez Arsenal & Chile 67

17 Luka Modric Real Madrid & Croatia 59

18 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyeng Borussia Dortmund & Gabon 58

19= Gianluigi Buffon Juventus & Italy 56

19= Paul Pogba Juventus/Manchester United & France 56

21 Sergio Aguero Manchester City & Argentina 55

22 Leonardo Bonucci Juventus & Italy 54

23 Gonzalo Higuain Napoli/Juventus & Argentina 44

24 Dimitri Payet West Ham United & France 41

25 Arturo Vidal Bayern Munich & Chile 36

26 Rui Patricio Sporting Clube & Portugal 32

27 Eden Hazard Chelsea & Belgium 31

28 Mesut Ozil Arsenal & Germany 29

29= Jerome Boateng Bayern Munich & Germany 26

29= Zlatan Ibrahimovic Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester United & Sweden 26

29= Thomas Muller Bayern Munich & Germany 26

32= David De Gea Manchester United & Spain 19

32= Diego Godin Atletico Madrid & Uruguay 19

34 Sergio Ramos Real Madrid & Spain 17

35= Philippe Coutinho Liverpool & Brazil 12

35= Hugo Lloris Tottenham & France 12

37= Sergio Busquets Barcelona & Spain 10

37= Paulo Dybala Juventus & Argentina 10

39= Dani Alves Barcelona/Juventus & Brazil 9

39= Ivan Rakitic Barcelona & Croatia 9

41= Joao Mario Sporting/Internazionale & Portugal 8

41= Marcelo Real Madrid & Brazil 8

43 Harry Kane Tottenham & England 7

44= Toby Alderweireld Tottenham & Belgium 6

44= Mats Hummels Bayern Munich/Borussia Dortmund & Germany 6

44= Jan Oblak Atletico Madrid & Slovenia 6

44= Renato Sanches Benfica/Bayern Munich & Portugal 6

48= Koke Atletico Madrid & Spain 5

48= Alvaro Morata Juventus/Real Madrid & Spain 5

50= Aaron Ramsey Arsenal & Wales 4

50= Mohamed Salah Roma & Egypt 4

50= Eduardo Vargas Hoffenheim & Chile 4

53= Joshua Kimmich Bayern Munich & Germany 3

53= Gerard Pique Barcelona & Germany 3

53= Gylfi Sigurdsson Swansea City & Iceland 3

53= Francesco Totti Roma & Italy 3

53= Xabi Alonso Bayern Munich & Spain 3

58= Daniele De Rossi Roma & Italy 2

58= Diego Costa Chelsea & Spain 2

58= Kim Shin-wook Jeonbuk & South Korea 2

58= Paulinho Guangzhou Evergrande & Brazil 2

58= Ivan Perisic Internazionale & Croatia 2

58= Son Heung-min Tottenham & South Korea 2

64= Giorgio Chiellini Juventus & Italy 1

64= Gabi Atletico Madrid & Spain 1

64= Leigh Griffiths Celtic & Scotland 1

64= Wes Morgan Leicester City & Jamaica 1

64= Darijo Srna Shakhtar Donetsk & Croatia 1

PREVIOUS WINNERS

1982 Paolo Rossi Juventus & Italy

1983 Zico Udinese & Brazil

1984 Michel Platini Juventus & France

1985 Michel Platini Juventus & France

1986 Diego Maradona Napoli & Argentina

1987 Ruud Gullit Milan & Holland

1988 Marco Van Basten Milan & Holland

1989 Ruud Gullit Milan & Holland

1990 Lothar Matthaus Internazionale & West Germany

1991 Jean-Pierre Papin Marseille & France

1992 Marco Van Basten Milan & Holland

1993 Roberto Baggio Juventus & Italy

1994 Paolo Maldini Milan & Italy

1995 Gianluca Vialli Juventus & Italy

1996 Ronaldo Barcelona & Brazil

1997 Ronaldo Barcelona/Internazionale & Brazil

1998 Zinedine Zidane Juventus & France

1999 Rivaldo Barcelona & Brazil

2000 Luis Figo Barcelona/Real Madrid & Portugal

2001 Michael Owen Liverpool & England

2002 Ronaldo Internazionale/Real Madrid & Brazil

2003 Pavel Nedved Juventus & Czech Republic

2004 Ronaldinho Barcelona & Brazil

2005 Ronaldinho Barcelona & Brazil

2006 Fabio Cannavaro Juventus/Real Madrid & Italy

2007 Kaka Milan & Brazil

2008 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United & Portugal

2009 Lionel Messi Barcelona & Argentina

2010 Xavi Barcelona & Spain

2011 Lionel Messi Barcelona & Argentina

2012 Lionel Messi Barcelona & Argentina

2013 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid & Portugal

2014 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid & Portugal

2015 Lionel Messi Barcelona & Argentina