Ronaldo Beats Messi To Win FIFA Best Player Award
Cristiano Ronaldo was named the world’s best player at the inaugural Best Fifa Football Awards in Zurich.
Real Madrid and Portugal forward Ronaldo, 31, beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann to the prize.
Ronaldo also won the Ballon d’Or in December with both honours, recognition for success in the Champions League with Real and Euro 2016 with Portugal.
Carli Lloyd of the United States was named the world’s best female player.
Leicester’s Claudio Ranieri was named best men’s coach, ex-Germany boss Silvia Neid won the female coach award, while Penang’s Mohd Faiz Subri received the Puskas award for the best goal of 2016.
For the past six years, the world’s best player has received the Fifa Ballon d’Or award.
A version of that prize has been awarded by France Football magazine since 1956, but last year world football’s governing body ended its association with that honour.
Instead, it introduced the Best Fifa Football Awards, with Ronaldo the first recipient of its main prize.
Voting for the player and coach categories was by national team captains and managers, selected journalists and, for the first time, an online poll of fans.
Each counted for 25% of the points.
