Kylian Mbappe was named best men’s player of the year at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards on Monday night, with Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho among the evening’s other winners.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward, 23, took top honours at the 12th edition of the awards, which were held at the Armani Hotel.
Mbappe, a 2018 Fifa World Cup winner with France, had earlier featured alongside Bayern Munich counterpart Lewandowski in a panel discussion for the Dubai International Sports Conference, where the pair discussed innovation in football.
In winning the best men’s player award, Mbappe defeated six-time recipient Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah, Karim Benzema and Lewandowski. The French international top-scored in Ligue 1 last season with 27 goals, as PSG finished runner-up to Lille, and helped France secure the Uefa National League.
“It’s a big pleasure to be here again in Dubai,” Mbappe said. “First of all, I have to wish a Happy New Year to everybody here. A big pleasure to see all the big players here, big legends, big names of football.
Lewandowski, 33, did not leave empty-handed though: the Polish international won the inaugural [Diego] Maradona Award for best goalscorer of the year after striking 69 times for the German champions in 2021.
For the second time in the awards history, fans were invited to vote. Organisers said more than 15 million votes were cast from 210-plus countries and territories. Fans accounted for a 40 per cent of the votes, while a jury made up of coaches, directors and club presidents contributed to the remainder.
