Five Premier League players were named in the Fifa Team of the Year at the Fifa Best awards in Doha on Tuesday evening, while Real Madrid and Brazil winger Vinicius Jr made up for his Ballon d’Or snub.
The players selected in the starting XI were Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Jude Bellingham, Kroos (all Real Madrid), Rodri, Erling Haaland (both Man City), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) and Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid).
Martinez was named Goalkeeper of the Year after helping Argentina win the Copa America. The 32-year-old has now won the best goalkeeper award twice at each of the Ballon d’Or and Fifa Best awards.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr was named the men’s Player of the Year at the Fifa Best Awards, having boycotted the recent Ballon d’Or ceremony after missing out to Manchester City’s Rodri for the top price.
Vinicius played a key role in Real’s Champions League and La Liga-winning campaign in 2023-24, scoring 24 goals and providing 11 assists.
It was the first time Vinicius has won the award and capped a happier finish to the season than October’s Ballon d’Or boycott, an event that Real Madrid also boycotted as a show of support for the 24year-old.
The award, which spans August 2023 to August 2024, as decided by a mix of public vote, one journalist from each country and the captain and manager of each national team. Each group’s vote counted for 25%.
Spain’s Euro 2024-winning midfielder Rodri finished second to Vinicius for the award, while Real’s England star Jude Bellingham was third.
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Garnacho wins Puskas Award
Meanwhile, there was some success for Manchester United as Alejandro Garnacho won the Puskas Award for the best men’s Goal of the Year.
The Red Devils won the award for his sensational bicycle kick in United’s 3-0 win at Everton in November 2023. Mohammed Kudus’ fine solo goal for West Ham in the Europa League against Freiburg was also nominated.
BREAKING: Man United’s Alejandro Garnacho wins 2024 Puskas Award for overhead kick against Everton 🚨🚀 pic.twitter.com/gLt5MnIqtB
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 17, 2024
In other awards, the Coach of the Year was Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti, who led the Spanish giants to the Champions League and La Liga titles last season.
The 65-year-old Italian won the award, which has been running since 2016, for the first time. Most of the previous winners at the Fifa Best Awards have been Premier League bosses, including the likes of Claudio Ranieri, Jurgen Klopp (twice), Thomas Tuchel and last year Pep Guardiola.
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