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Fans have reacted to Cristiano Ronaldo winning the 2023 Best Middle East player at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Friday (January 19).
The 38-year-old, widely regarded as one of the game's best players and most lethal goalscorers, continues to age like fine wine. Since joining Saudi Pro League giants Al-Nassr in December 2022, Ronaldo has taken the league by storm and also sparked an influx of top European talents to the Kingdom.
Talking purely about his on-field exploits, Ronaldo, with 54 goals, ended 2023 as the year's top goalscorer for club and country. He finished ahead of Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, PSG's Kylian Mbappe (52 each) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (50).
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Forty-four of those strikes came for Al-Nassr, including 24 in competitive outings this season. That includes league-leading tallies of 20 goals and nine assists in 18 outings in the league, where Ronaldo's side are only behind runaway pacesetters Al-Hilal (53) after 19 games.
Owing to his staggering impact, both on and off the field, Ronaldo was bestowed the Best Middle East player award on Dubai. However, not many fans were appreciative, with some reckoning that the award was 'invented' for the Portuguese. One tweeted:
"Was this invented just for him?"
Another chimed in:
"Middle East award. He really fell off."
Here are some of the top reactions on X:
It's pertinent to note that in the same award function, Ronaldo also won the Maradona award for Best Goalscorer of the year.
How Cristiano Ronaldo fared for Portugal in 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo had a rousing year for club and country in 2023, being one of five players to score at least 50 times.
His year-leading tally of 54 strikes comprises 10 for Portugal in nine UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers. The 38-year-old led his team from the front in a perfect qualifying campaign.
Ronaldo is now all set to create more history at the European Championships in Germany this summer, by making a record-extending sixth appearance in the quadrennial competition. For context, nobody has appeared in more than four.
The 2016 winners will be one of the favourites to go all the way, thanks to the imperious form of their inspirational captain, who's still going strong despite turning 39 next month.
