Vinicius Junior closed 2024 with another trophy for the best in the world, days after winning FIFA’s The Best award.
The 24-year-old Real Madrid striker won the award for most outstanding player of the year at the Globe Soccer Awards, in a ceremony held at a five-star resort in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). He won the trophy for best striker.
The event, which has existed for 15 years, is organized by the European Club Association and the European Association of Player Agents, entities unknown to the general public. The main supporter is Beyond Developments, an Emirati group that operates in the real estate sector, and there are 16 co-sponsor companies.
Another recognition of the achievements that Vini Jr. achieved in the last full season for Real Madrid (2023/2024), in which, playing at a very high level, he won the Champions League and the Spanish Championship. Cool, deserved, important, right?
Deserved, without a doubt. Cool, maybe. Important? At the very least, doubtful.
I can’t say that this award is cheap (although it seems like it), as it has some tradition. However, it is very far from the relevance of The Best or the Ballon d’Or (offered since 1956 by France Football magazine) and is somewhat pointless when it comes to selecting the categories.
It started in 2010 with just three (the unorthodox “Best Agent of the Year”, “Best Director of the Year” and “Best Career Club Director”). Nothing for the players, who began to be considered the following year, when Cristiano Ronaldo was elected “Best Player of the Year”.
In 2011, there were six Globe Soccer categories. It grew year by year, until in 2023 it reached 26, including “Best Player in the Middle East” (Cristiano Ronaldo), “Fans’ Favorite Player” (Cristiano Ronaldo), “Best Digital Content of Serie A” ( Rome) –Serie A is the first division of the Italian Championship–, “Best Influencer on Social Media” (one Alnoufali_7, from Oman). And so on.
One justification for this “heteredoxia” is that Globe Soccer is an award that includes not only what happens on the field, but also what goes beyond, such as business, managers, entrepreneurs, the media, in short, the football industry . However, there is no criteria, and the prizes come and go at the whim of who knows who.
At this year’s ceremony, there were 18 categories. Which doesn’t exactly mean a reduction, as at the end of May the first “European edition” of the event took place, with 14 winners, including the president of Paris Saint-Germain, the Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, who took the “Prize of Leadership in Football”.
Adding this and that together, there are 36 winners (there is a category in which there is more than one winner), and the thing becomes trivial.
There was even the “Revelation Club Award”, unprecedented, for the Greek Olympiacos, founded no less than 99 years ago, and Neymar (himself, having played TWICE this year) also took his prize, in the “Career Award”, even without having closed his.
Very strange. But not so much when we know that in 2023, the person who won this same trophy (“Career Award”) was Casemiro, an excellent midfielder until the 2022 World Cup who then fell sharply in performance and is now in Manchester United’s reserves.
A constant criticism of Globe Soccer is the predilection for Cristiano Ronaldo, considered the organizers’ favorite.
The Portuguese, who moved to Saudi football last year, has 18 trophies, more than one per year of the award’s existence.
CR7 won the best player award (six times), as well as the “Best Media Attraction” (2011), the “Good Reputation Award” (2016) and the “Player of the 21st Century” (2020) , this is an aberration, given that it has eight decades of a century ahead of it.
He also won, among others, the “Greatest Scorer of All Time” (2021 and 2024). Cristiano Ronaldo (916 goals) scored more than Pelé (762) and Messi (850), considering only official games, but what’s the reason for double the award, other than to flatter the guy?
Regarding those elected, the awards website, without specifying the weight of each vote, states: “Football enthusiasts had a voice in determining the recipients of these coveted awards through global voting. In addition, a renowned panel of football icons [Francesco Totti, Iker Casillas, Luis Figo e Marcello Lippi] lent his knowledge to the selection process.”
Over the years, Globe Soccer has awarded, in addition to those already mentioned, the following Brazilians: Ronaldo Fenômeno, Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Romário (“Career Award”), Alisson, twice, and Ederson (“Best Goalkeeper”).
