Globe Soccer Awards


The Globe Soccer Awards, commonly and unofficially known as Dubai d'Or, are awards which acknowledge achievements in football. The event was founded in 2010 by Tommaso Bendoni and is co-owned by Ricardo Silva. It is organized by Globe Soccer and involves participation from international football organizations such as UEFA, UAE Pro League, ECA, and EFAA. It is held annually in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Some of the Globe Soccer Awards' partners are the Dubai Sports Council and the Spanish newspaper Marca.
The annual ceremony of the event is attended by international football players, coaches, and celebrities.

History

Founded in 2010 by Tommaso Bendoni, the first edition of the Globe Soccer Awards started with three categories, expanding to six in 2011 and ten by 2012. Over the years, the number of awards and categories has increased, mirroring the growth and diversification of global football. The focus on women's football at the Globe Soccer Awards has also increased with specific categories introduced for achievements in women's football.

Selection process

The awards are given to individuals and entities within the football industry for their achievements. The selection process for award recipients involves two stages of voting, where football fans worldwide participate. In the first stage, the public selects the finalists from a set of nominees. In the second stage, the final decision is made by both public votes and a jury comprising football professionals such as journalists, agents, coaches, and ex-players.

Criticism

The Globe Soccer Awards are not widely considered a serious or prestigious ceremony by most football experts, journalists, or analysts. They are often viewed as a glamorous commercial event with significant biases and limited credibility compared to established awards like the Ballon d'Or or FIFA The Best Award. The Globe Soccer Awards have faced criticism for perceived bias toward agent Jorge Mendes and his client Cristiano Ronaldo, due to Mendes' role as a co-founder and driving force behind the event, his near-monopoly on the Best Agent of the Year award, and Ronaldo's record haul of prizes. This perception has been further fueled by the introduction of the Best Middle East Player category in 2023, shortly after Ronaldo's high-profile transfer to Saudi club Al-Nassr in January of that year.

Winners

2010

  • In December 2010, during the closing gala, the Audi Football Night, the winners of the Globe Soccer Awards were announced:
AwardWinnerTeam
Best Agent of the Year

2011

  • In December 2011, 6 awards were awarded in Dubai:
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Best Player of the Yearfbaicon|ESP

2012

  • In December 2012, 10 awards were awarded in Dubai:
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Best Player of the Yearfbaicon|ESPfbaicon|ESP

2013

  • In December 2013, 11 awards were awarded in Dubai:
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Best Player of the Yearfbaicon|GER

2014

  • In December 2014, 13 awards were awarded in Dubai:
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Best Player of the Yearfbaicon|ESP

2015

AwardWinnerTeam
Best Player of the Yearfbaicon|ESP

2016

  • In December 2016, 15 awards were awarded in Dubai:
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Best Player of the Yearfbaicon|ESP

2017

AwardWinnerTeam
Best Player of the Yearfbaicon|ESP

2018

  • In January 2019, 13 awards were awarded in Dubai:
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Best Player of the Yearfbaicon|ESPfbaicon|ITA

2019

  • In December 2019, 16 awards were awarded in Dubai:
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Best Men's Player of the Yearfbaicon|ITA

2020

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Player of the Century 2001–2020

2021

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Best Men's Player of the Yearfbaicon|FRA

2022

  • On 17 November 2022, the following 17 awards were awarded in Dubai:
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Best Men's Player of the Yearfbaicon|ESP

2023

  • On 19 January 2024, the following 18 awards were awarded in Dubai for the calendar year 2023:
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Best Men's Player of the Yearfbaicon|ENG

2024 – Europe Edition

  • On 29 May 2024, the following 14 awards were awarded in Sardinia, Italy for the calendar year 2024 in the first Europe Edition:
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Best Men's Player of the Yearfbaicon|FRAfbaicon|ENGfbaicon|ESP

2024

  • On 27 December 2024, the following 21 awards were awarded in Dubai for the calendar year 2024:
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Best Men's Player of the Yearfbaicon|ESP

2025

  • On 28 December 2025, the following awards were awarded in Dubai for the calendar year 2025:
  • A Special Award was awarded in honour of Liverpool FC player Diogo Jota, who died on 3 July 2025.
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Globe Sports Award

Awards of the Century

Player of the 20th century

At the 2012 Globe Soccer Awards ceremony, the organisation decided to award a special award to recognise the best Player of the 20th Century. The award was given to Diego Maradona, who played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys, and.

21st Century Awards

Similarly, at the Globe Soccer 2020 Awards ceremony, the organization decided to simultaneously award a series of special awards known as the 21st Century Awards, which seek to recognize the most important figures in football from 2001 to 2020. The award ceremony was attended by different personalities linked to the world of football, which highlights the president of FIFA Gianni Infantino who had delivered a speech at the conference.

Player of 21st century: votes

The results of the internet Poll on 28 December 2020 for the best players of the 21st century, with just six players collecting over 1%, were as follows.
RankPlayerNationalityPercentage
1Cristiano Ronaldo38%
2Lionel Messi24%
3Mohamed Salah23%
4Ronaldinho14%
5Robert Lewandowski4%
6Zinedine Zidane2%
7Andrés Iniesta1%
8Andriy Shevchenko1%
9Francesco Totti1%
10Neymar1%
11Ronaldo1%
12Sergio Ramos1%
13Steven Gerrard1%
14Zlatan Ibrahimović1%

Coach of 21st century: votes

The results of the internet Poll on 28 December 2020 for the best coach of the 21st century, were as follows.
RankCoachNationalityPercentage
1Pep Guardiola34%
2Zinedine Zidane30%
3Alex Ferguson27%
4José Mourinho8%

Agent of 21st century: votes

The results of the internet Poll on 28 December 2020 for the best agent of the 21st century, were as follows.
RankAgentNationalityPercentage
1Jorge Mendes66%
2Mino Raiola22%
3Giovanni Branchini13%

Club of 21st century: votes

The results of the internet Poll on 28 December 2020 for the best club of the 21st century, were as follows.
RankClubNationalityPercentage
1Real Madrid36%
2Al Ahly32%
3Barcelona18%
4Bayern Munich14%