It has been 12 months since Cristiano Ronaldo lifted the Goal 50 prize for 2016, with the Portugal and Real Madrid superstar following that triumph with many more personal honours. However, the 32-year-old has not had it all his way in the past year, with many other major names picking up individual awards.
Ronaldo's long-term rival for greatest player in the world - and former Goal 50 winner Lionel Messi - topped the goalscoring charts in La Liga, which also saw him take the European Golden Shoe award. Although Ronaldo could not match Messi's 37 La Liga goals, he was the Champions League's top scorer with 12 goals as Madrid lifted the trophy.
Many of the award winners gained greater prominence thanks to their excellent campaigns, with the likes of Ederson and Nelson Semedo both earning transfers away from Benfica - to Manchester City and Barcelona respectively. Similarly, Ousmane Dembele became the world's second most expensive player after winning the Bundesliga Best Young Player award.
WORLD AWARD WINNERS
After being voted as the winner of the Goal 50 in 2016, Ronaldo has since claimed the Ballon d'Or and the Best FIFA Men's Player awards. But he was outshone at the Confederations Cup where Germany lifted the trophy. Julian Draxler was that competition's star attraction, with Claudio Bravo putting his club woes with Manchester City behind him to be named the best goalkeeper.
New Liverpool signing Dominic Solanke was the best player at the Under-20 World Cup, while Ronaldo was once again the hero as Real Madrid won the Club World Cup, with the Portugal international picking up yet more individual honours.
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Goal 50 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid & Portugal |
| Ballon d'Or | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid & Portugal |
| The Best FIFA Men's Player | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid & Portugal |
| The Best FIFA Women's Player | Lieke Martens | FC Barcelona & USA |
| Confederations Cup Golden Ball | Julian Draxler | Germany |
| Confederations Cup Golden Boot | Timo Werner | Germany |
| Confederations Cup Golden Glove | Claudio Bravo | Chile |
| U-20 World Cup Golden Ball | Dominic Solanke | England |
| U-20 World Cup Golden Boot | Riccardo Orsolini | Italy |
| U-20 World Cup Golden Glove | Freddie Woodman | England |
| FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| FIFA Club World Cup Golden Boot | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| FIFA Puskas Award | Olivier Giroud | Arsenal |
EUROPEAN AWARD WINNERS
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With Messi and Ronaldo facing off again for the major European awards, Gianluigi Buffon was rewarded for his Champions League performances by being named the competition's Goalkeeper of the Season. Madrid's trophy-winning run saw Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos also receive awards, while Paul Pogba won Europa League Player of the Season.
Tottenham's Harry Kane edged out Everton's Romelu Lukaku for the Premier League Golden Boot, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Edinson Cavani and Edin Dzeko all leading the domestic scoring charts in Germany, France and Italy, respectively.
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| European Golden Shoe | Lionel Messi | Barcelona |
| UEFA Best Player in Europe | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| Champions League Golden Boot | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season | Gianluigi Buffon | Juventus |
| Champions League Defender of the Season | Sergio Ramos | Real Madrid |
| Champions League Midfielder of the Season | Luka Modric | Real Madrid |
| Champions League Forward of the Season | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| Europa League Golden Boot | Edin Dzeko | Roma |
| Europa League Player of the Season | Paul Pogba | Manchester United |
| European U-21 Championship Player of the Tournament | Dani Ceballos | Spain |
| European U-21 Championship Golden Boot | Saul | Spain |
| Bundesliga Golden Boot | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund |
| Bundesliga Footballer of the Year | Philipp Lahm | Bayern Munich |
| Bundesliga Rookie of the Year | Ousmane Dembele | Borussia Dortmund |
| Eredivisie Footballer of the Year | Karim El Ahmadi | Feyenoord |
| Eredivisie Young Player of the Year | Kasper Dolberg | Ajax |
| Eredivisie Top Scorer | Nicolai Jorgensen | Feyenoord |
| La Liga Best Player | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid |
| La Liga Best Goalkeeper | Jan Oblak | Atletico Madrid |
| La Liga Best Foreign Player | Luis Suarez | Barcelona |
| La Liga Best Breakthrough Player | Marco Asensio | Espanyol |
| La Liga Trofeo Pichichi | Lionel Messi | Barcelona |
| Ligue 1 Golden Boot | Edinson Cavani | PSG |
| Ligue 1 Player of the Year | Edinson Cavani | PSG |
| Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year | Danijel Subasic | Monaco |
| Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year | Kylian Mbappe | Monaco |
| Primeira Liga Player of the Year | Pizzi | Benfica |
| Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player | Nelson Semedo | Benfica |
| Primeira Liga Best Goalkeeper | Ederson | Benfica |
| Primeria Liga Golden Boot | Bas Dost | Sporting CP |
| Premier League Golden Boot | Harry Kane | Tottenham |
| Premier League Players' Player of the Year | N'Golo Kante | Chelsea |
| Premier League Players' Young Player of the Year | Dele Alli | Tottenham |
| Serie A Footballer of the Year | Leonardo Bonucci | Juventus |
| Serie A Capocannoniere | Edin Dzeko | Roma |
AFRICAN AWARD WINNERS
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CAF handed out its three major awards to English-based players in 2016, with Riyad Mahrez picking up the African Footballer of the Year trophy after helping Leicester City lift the Premier League for the first time in their history. Young Nigeria duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi's achievements were also recognised, while Uganda's Denis Onyango was named as the best player currently playing in Africa.
Christian Bassogog took time out from his club duties with Chinese Super League side Henan Jianye to help Cameroon win the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring twice en route to the final, including in the 2-0 semi-final victory over Ghana. He was named Africa Cup of Nations Man of the Competition for his impact.
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| African Footballer of the Year | Riyad Mahrez | Leicester City & Algeria |
| CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year | Kelechi Iheanacho | Manchester City & Nigeria |
| CAF Youth Player of the Year | Alex Iwobi | Arsenal & Nigeria |
| African Inter-Club Player of the Year | Denis Onyango | Mamelodi Sundowns & Uganda |
| Africa Cup of Nations Man of the Competition | Christian Bassogog | Cameroon |
| Africa Cup of Nations Top Scorer | Junior Kabananga | DR Congo |
| CAF Champions League Top Scorer | Taha Yassine Khenissi | ES Tunis |
| CAF Confederation Cup Top Scorer | Jeremy Brockie | SuperSport United |
ASIAN & OCEANIAN AWARD WINNERS
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Former Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk finished the season as AFC Champions League Top Scorer, with North Korean striker Kim Yu-song doing the same in the AFC Cup. Shinji Okazaki was also rewarded for his contribution to Leicester's Premier League win with a trophy of his own, while PEC Zwolle's Ryan Thomas picked up the Oceania Footballer of the Year Award.
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Asian Player of the Year | Omar Abdulrahman | Al-Ain & UAE |
| Asian International Player of the Year | Shinji Okazaki | Leicester City & Japan |
| Asian Young Player of the Year | Ritsu Doan | Gamba Osaka & Japan |
| AFC Champions League Top Scorer | Hulk | Shanghai SIPG |
| AFC Cup Top Scorer | Kim Yu-song | April 25 |
| Oceania Footballer of the Year | Ryan Thomas | PEC Zwolle & New Zealand |
| OFC Champions League Golden Ball | Angel Berlanga | Auckland City |
| OFC Champions League Golden Boot | Joao Moreira | Auckland City |
| OFC Champions League Golden Glove | Enaut Zubikarai | Auckland City |
NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICAN AWARD WINNERS
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David Villa's exploits in Major League Soccer did not go unnoticed at home or in the United States as he was named the MLS MVP and also received his first international call-up to the Spain squad in three years.
Costa Rica's international duo of Keylor Navas and Bryan Ruiz picked up two of CONCACAF's biggest individual accolades as Goalkeeper of the Year and Player of the Year, while Canada's Alphonso Davies received two awards for the Gold Cup after ending as the tournament's top scorer.
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| CONCACAF Player of the Year | Bryan Ruiz | Sporting CP & Costa Rica |
| CONCACAF Goalkeeper of the Year | Keylor Navas | Real Madrid & Costa Rica |
| CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Ball | Michael Bradley | USA |
| CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Boot | Alphonso Davies | Canada |
| CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Glove | Andre Blake | Jamaica |
| CONCACAF Gold Cup Young Player Award | Alphonso Davies | Canada |
| CONCACAF Champions League Golden Ball | Franco Jara | Pachuca |
| CONCACAF Champions League Golden Boot | Hirving Lozano | Pachuca |
| CONCACAF Champions League Golden Glove | Alfonso Blanco | Pachuca |
| CONCACAF Champions League Best Young Player | Hirving Lozano | Pachuca |
| CFU Club Championship Top Scorer | Babalito | Cibao |
| MLS MVP (2016) | David Villa | New York City FC |
| MLS Rookie of the Year (2017) | Julian Gressel | Atlanta United |
| MLS Newcomer of the Year (2016) | Nicolas Lodeiro | Seattle Sounders |
| MLS Golden Boot (2017) | Nemanja Nikolic | Chicago Fire |
SOUTH AMERICAN AWARD WINNERS
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Miguel Borja was a surprise winner of the South American Footballer of the Year Award, pipping Gabriel Jesus to the trophy thanks to his goalscoring achievements in the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores with Atletico Nacional. Jonathan Calleri's nine goals helped Sao Paulo reach the last four of the Copa Libertadores, before Atletico Nacional lifted the trophy for the second time.
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| South American Footballer of the Year | Miguel Borja | Atletico Nacional & Colombia |
| Copa Libertadores Top Scorer | Jonathan Calleri | Sao Paulo |
| Copa Libertadores Best Player | Alejandro Guerra | Atletico Nacional |
| Copa Sudamericana Top Scorer | Miguel Borja | Atletico Nacional |
The Goal 50 is an annual award that both recognises and ranks the world's 50 best footballers of the preceding 12 months. Chief editors and correspondents from Goal's 37 editions around the world all cast their votes, with candidates judged on their level of consistency over the previous year of action, their big-game performances, footballing legacy and the success of their teams at both club and international level.