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France and PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe has been named the Men's Player of the Year at the 2021 Globe Soccer Awards. He beat out the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award.
Mbappe was nominated for the award alongside his teammate Lionel Messi, Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, Real Madrid's Karim Benzema and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
Speaking ahead of the ceremony, which was held in Dubai, Mbappe gave credit to his teammates at both PSG and France. He said:
"I'm a lucky guy. I play for a great team and a great national team. I want to keep winning, because otherwise someone will take your place. I want to continue winning titles for my national team and my club."
The Frenchman has had a stellar individual year for both club and country. He ended the year with 51 goals and 22 assists from 67 games across all competitions.
However, Mbappe definitely was not the favorite for the award. The likes of Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski had better seasons in terms of both stats and success. Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, faced a tumultuous season with Juventus before leaving for Manchester United earlier this summer.
Lionel Messi misses out as Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski named best goalscorers
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski were honored for their goalscoring feats as Lionel Messi was left empty-handed at the Globe Soccer Awards.
Cristiano Ronaldo was named the Top Scorer of All Time for his achievements over his illustrious career. The Portuguese superstar has scored 802 goals from 1098 games for both club and country.
Lewandowski, on the other hand, received the Maradona Award for being the Best Goal Scorer of 2021, with 64 goals and 10 assists. The Bayern Munich man was also named Fans' Player of the Year.
Chelsea and Italy were the night's other big winners. The Blues were named the Best Club of the Year for their triumph in the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League. Italy were named the Best National Team of the Year following their European Championship victory earlier this year.
Italian duo Roberto Mancini and Leonardo Bonucci went home with the Coach of the Year and Defender of the Year awards respectively. Serie A, meanwhile, received the Innovation Award for being the world's first league to introduce VAR.
