Ronaldo pointed at Haaland.

In the most important award category of the 2023 Globe Soccer gala taking place on the night of January 19, Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland are the two candidates. When the camera turned to Ronaldo, he repeatedly pointed at Haaland as if to signal that the Manchester City striker deserved to win the award.

True to Ronaldo’s wishes, Haaland was somewhat consoled when he became the owner of the Best Player award in 2023. This award came right after the Norwegian striker’s defeat against Lionel Messi in FIFA The Best.

“Man City is a great team. I’m looking forward to returning to play with my teammates. I hope my injury will recover quickly,” the striker born in 2000 said on the podium.

Haaland is the 8th name in history to receive the Dubai Golden Ball award, after Cristiano Ronaldo, Radamel Falcao, Franck Ribery, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema. Among them, Ronaldo is the player with the most awards (6).

Previously, CR7 was also honored in 3 other individual award categories including, “Most scored player of the year”, “Best player in the Middle East” and “Best player, according to fans’ vote”.

“I always strive to bring joy to the fans. Thank you to those who have always supported me. Without the audience, football would have no meaning. Please continue to cheer for me, Al Nassr and the Portuguese team”, Ronaldo said when becoming the owner of the Best Player award in 2023, voted by fans.

In addition to awards for Ronaldo and Haaland, Globe Soccer also honored many groups and individuals. Man City won the most successful club award, Pep Guardiola won the best coach award, Ederson and Rodri won the best goalkeeper and midfielder awards. The player award with an outstanding career belongs to Casemiro and John Terry. Ronaldo’s old friend, “super agent” Jorge Mendes also received the Agent of the Year award.