"A player I always admired" – Cristiano Ronaldo pays tribute to Diego Maradona after winning trio of honors at Globe Soccer Awards 2023

After winning the Maradona Award at the recent Globe Soccer Awards for bagging the most number of goals in 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo paid tribute to Argentina icon Diego Maradona.

During the Globe Soccer Awards 2023 event in Dubai on January 19, the 38-year-old lifted three awards. Apart from winning the Maradona Award, the Al-Nassr man notched up the Best Middle East Player and the Fans' Favourite Player of the Year honors as well earlier on Friday.

Speaking to Portuguese newspaper Record, Ronaldo opened up on his admiration for 1986 FIFA World Cup winner Maradona. He elaborated:

"As I said at the gala, these are two awards that I don't have in my museum. So it makes me very happy, especially Maradona, who unfortunately is no longer with us and who was a player I always admired."

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United attacker continued:

"And also, as I always say, that the fans are also very important because fans go to the stadiums to see us and pay for tickets to watch football. [When] I used to play in Europe, I had the opportunity to win this award a few times, but in the Middle East, this is the first time. I feel happy, knowing that the season I had was very good and it's always good to receive awards of this magnitude."

Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr on a free switch last January, scored 54 goals in 59 combined appearances for his club and his national team last year. He outscored the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

So far this season, the five-time Ballon d'Or award winner has netted 30 times and provided 11 assists in 31 overall matches for Al-Nassr.

Al-Nassr star & Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo rules out a return to boyhood club

Asked whether he has plans to rejoin Primeira Liga club Sporting CP, Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo replied to Record (h/t X/CristianoXtra):

"Returning to play in the Portuguese League is meaningless. I will be 39 years old in a few days, and I will play this remaining season and another year in Al-Nassr, which is what I want most."

Ruling out a potential return to his boyhood club, the striker concluded:

"And when I have 40 'bullets', as my friend Jose Semedo says... let's see what happens then. If I play until the age of 40, it will be a great goal at this level. And then, if it's okay, 41, 42... we don't know. But the possibility of playing in Portugal is out of the question."

Ronaldo, whose Al-Nassr contract is set to expire in June 2025, spent five years in Sporting's youth ranks before making his debut in 2002.

Before moving to Manchester United in 2003, the right-footed forward bagged five goals and recorded six assists in 31 games for Sporting.