Real Madrid big winners at Globe Soccer Dubai Awards as Vinicius Jr, Ancelotti and Perez are all recognised; Ronaldo bags two accolades

Dubai, UAE, December 27, 2024: Dubai: Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr added to his stellar personal trophy collection in Dubai on Friday night, with Jude Bellingham and Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo the other big winners at the 2024 Beyond Globe Soccer Dubai Awards, held in conjunction with the 19th Dubai International Sports Conference, in partnership with Dubai Sports Council, inside the five-star Atlantis, The Palm. 

Vinicius Jr went home with the Best Men’s Player and Best Forward awards after enjoying the best goalscoring season of his career in 2023/2024, finishing with 24 goals and contributing nine assists in 39 matches for Real Madrid. At 23 years and 325 days, the Brazilian also broke Lionel Messi's record as the youngest player to score in multiple Champions League finals, leading the Spaniards to their 15th European title.

“It was such a faraway dream that it seemed impossible for me,” said Vinicius Jr.  “I was just a little kid who used to play barefoot in the streets of São Gonçalo. I grew up in a poor place, surrounded by crime, so to be here is something very important to me because I’m not only representing Brazil but all the kids out there with the same dream.”

Bellingham, meanwhile, took home the Best Midfielder and Maradona Award following an outstanding calendar year, which saw the 21-year-old lift the LaLiga title and maiden Champions League in his first season at Los Blancos, as well as the Supercopa de Espana and UEFA Super Cup. The Birmingham City prodigy also helped England reach the final of the European Championship, contributing with some key goals along the way.

“Thank you to Globe Soccer for inviting me to this awards ceremony,” added Bellingham. “It’s amazing to see so many great players and legends, and it’s a real privilege to win a trophy here tonight as well. It wouldn’t be possible without my teammates, my staff, and most importantly, my family. My mum, who is here tonight, is the biggest motivation in my life.”

Al-Nassr forward Ronaldo clinched the Best Middle East Player for a second successive year, as well as being awarded the prestigious Top Goalscorer of All Time accolade, with the legendary forward currently standing on 917 career goals following his most recent strike against Al-Ittihad.

“I am always happy to be here because I think you do it as a fantastic gala. You can see all the champions here. I think it’s fantastic. Congratulations to all,” said Ronaldo.  “In terms of the trophy, I have to say thank you to my teammates, my team. In terms of individual, I did very well, but for me, it’s not enough. My main goal is to win a trophy for Al Nassr.”

One of the world’s leading celebrations of international football excellence, the 15th edition of the star-studded awards took place on Palm Jumeirah, one of the world’s largest man-made islands, in association with Beyond Developments, Dubai’s latest premium real estate brand. As well as several Real Madrid representatives and Ronaldo, this year’s event attracted a full catalogue of football luminaries of past and present, including Brazil star Neymar, Barcelona and Spain winger Lamine Yamal, former England manager Fabio Capello, and Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand.

The Beyond Globe Soccer Dubai Awards captured global attention, with more than 100 million votes cast by fans from more than 200 countries and territories, eclipsing the previous record of 70 million. Meanwhile, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancellotti won Best Coach for the second time in three years, as FC Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati retained the Best Women’s Player award. Yamal, meanwhile, was duly recognised as Emerging Player.

Earlier in the evening, Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois joined Ronaldo on stage to discuss “Talented Football” as part of the Dubai International Sports Conference.

“In the beginning, when I arrived at Manchester United, I was a very skillful player, dribbling a lot, and I realized that it was good for the show, but football is more than that,” Ronaldo commented. “When you have a dream to achieve big things, you need to be more effective, and this is what I planned to do. I started to see examples there in the club, like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. And I took some good ideas."

Ronaldo added, “And as I say all the time, of course, you’re never going to be a football player if you only have talent. Talent is the main word to achieve success. But the other things, which I consider more important, are the ethics of work. I dedicated all my life to that because I know I can improve year by year.”

Courtois, meanwhile, said his early career setbacks were the catalyst to him reaching the top level. "For me as a goalkeeper, sometimes it’s harder because a striker can maybe miss two chances and then score a hat-trick, and it’s amazing,” he said. “I can miss two goals that are my fault, and you can mentally drop. I think from an early age, by setbacks I had when I was 14 or 15, when people were doubting me, I created a strong mentality, a strong belief in myself, and knowing that I want to be the best.”

Other winners on the night included Al Hilal’s Jorge Jesus, who was awarded Best Middle East Coach; while Al Ain received Best Middle East Club and FC Barcelona were crowned Best Women’s Club once more.

“The 19th Dubai International Sports Conference and 15th Globe Soccer Dubai Awards will go down as one of the most memorable editions in the history of this co-located event,” commented Dubai Sports Council. “To have Cristiano Ronaldo share a stage with Thibaut Courtois to discuss football here in our city further underlines the prestige of the Conference and the recognition it has globally. I would like to thank the team at Globe Soccer for organising another fantastic edition of their prestigious awards ceremony and we look forward already to next year’s event.” 

“This is a landmark edition for the Globe Soccer Dubai Awards and once again I am immensely proud to see the world of football come out in force here in Dubai to recognise and celebrate the sport’s best operators and is testament to the growing reputation of the Awards itself and the appeal of Dubai as a destination,” said Tommaso Bendoni, Founder and CEO of Globe Soccer. “I would like to thank Dubai Sports Council for their valuable help and continuous support throughout the past 15 years, with a record response from fans during the voting period reinforcing our commitment to honouring the extraordinary talents that make football a global phenomenon.”

Five career awards were also distributed during the two-hour ceremony. Juventus legend Alessandro del Piero and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez received Special Career Awards, while Neymar, Ferdinand and Courtois all took to the stage to receive Player Career Awards. 

Prior to the Dubai International Sports Conference session, the Globe Soccer Dubai Digital Awards crowned four winners. StarzPlay & Serie A won Best TV Partnership, while Ten-X received the Emerging Social Media Agency accolade.

Meanwhile, WeBook were crowned Best Emerging Ticketing Platform as the Argentine Football Association (AFA) took home the Best Brand Expansion award.

Saudi Sports Company were the official broadcaster of the 15th Globe Soccer Dubai Award, which was screened internationally worldwide on multiple broadcasters; see below for a full list of winners.