Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior won the FIFA Player of the Year award at a ceremony in Doha on Tuesday, while Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati picked up the women’s award for the second time.
The award comes two months after 24-year-old Vinicius finished second in the Ballon d’Or, with Real Madrid choosing to ignore the ceremony when they found out in advance that Manchester City midfielder Rodri would win the trophy.
But this time the Brazilian was present to receive the award in person because he was in Qatar with his club before the Intercontinental Cup final match with Mexican Pachuca on Wednesday.
Vinicius succeeds Lionel Messi as the best player in the world after the Argentine won the last two editions of the award.
The striker scored 24 goals and provided 11 assists in 39 matches in all competitions, as he led Real Madrid to the La Liga and Champions League double last season.
Having already secured his third La Liga title in May, Vinicius secured the second Champions League title of his career when Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on June 1.
Vinicius scored at Wembley Stadium with a well-placed shot in the final ten minutes to make the game safe for his team.
If Vinicius sometimes played second fiddle to teammate Jude Bellingham in La Liga, he was undoubtedly Madrid’s main man in Europe once things got serious.
He was the top scorer on the Champions League-winning team with six goals in the competition, including a goal in the final and a brace in Real Madrid’s 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich in the semi-final.
He also scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 Super Cup final win against arch-rivals Barcelona in January.
But it wasn’t easy for Vinicius last season, as he endured a disappointing Copa America tournament with the Brazilian national team over the summer.
He scored two goals in the group stage win over Paraguay, but his team was eventually eliminated on penalties to Uruguay in the quarter-finals.
Series winner Ponmati
The 26-year-old from Spain, Bonmatti, was named Women’s Player of the Year for the second year in a row, adding to the two Ballon d’Or awards she already boasts.
“I am grateful and proud to receive this award,” Bonmatti said via video link from Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium.
Last season, Bonmati led Barcelona to win a historic four continental titles and won the Nations League title with her national team.
She won every trophy available to her in club football in 2023/24 – La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup and the UEFA Women’s Champions League for the second time in a row.
Bonmatti scored a goal and produced a man-of-the-match performance as Barcelona beat Lyon 2-0 in the Champions League final to claim their third title in four seasons.
Argentine striker Alejandro Garnacho, the English Manchester United player, won the Puskas Award for best goal of the year for his amazing scissor kick shot.