On Wednesday, the finalists for the Globe Soccer Awards 2025 were revealed. The awards, created in 2010 and presented annually in Dubai, have grown steadily in prestige over the years. Cristiano Ronaldo occupies a prominent spot among the finalists, but Lionel Messi is missing.
Ronaldo was nominated in the Best Middle East Player category. There, the forward from Al Nassr will compete against Al Ittihad’s Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, Al Ahli’s Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney, Al Sadd’s Roberto Firmino, and Al Hilal’s Salem Al-Dawsari.
However, CR7 was excluded from the main category, which honors the best player in the world over the past year. Despite being the most decorated player in Globe Soccer Awards history, with six trophies, his performances at 40 years old in the Saudi Pro League were not enough to secure a spot for the top prize.
The same happened with Lionel Messi. His outstanding level in Major League Soccer—leading Inter Miami to the semifinals of the playoffs for the first time, finishing as top scorer and top assister, and being the clear favorite for the MVP award for a second consecutive year—was not enough to earn a nomination.
Compared to Ronaldo, the Argentine forward was not even nominated in other categories, such as Best Forward. This highlights the harsh reality that the era dominated by Messi and Ronaldo for more than 15 years is gradually coming to an end.
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Who are the nominees for the Globe Soccer Awards 2025?
The list of 25 nominees for the Best Player in the World award in 2025 shows a clear dominance of European soccer. All finalists play in one of the five major European leagues: Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1.
Complete list of finalists:
- Ousmane Dembele
- Gianluigi Donnarumma
- Desire Doue
- Viktor Gyokeres
- Erling Haaland
- Achraf Hakimi
- Alexander Isak
- Harry Kane
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
- Robert Lewandowski
- Lautaro Martinez
- Kylian Mbappe
- Scott McTominay
- Nuno Mendes
- Michael Olise
- Cole Palmer
- Pedri
- Raphinha
- Declan Rice
- Fabian Ruiz
- Mohamed Salah
- Vitinha
- Florian Wirtz
- Lamine Yamal
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi in the Globe Soccer Awards
Since their creation in 2010, the Globe Soccer Awards have grown in significance, though they still do not match the prestige of other awards like the Ballon d’Or or FIFA The Best. This has not stopped the world’s top stars from traveling to Dubai to receive their trophies.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award six times, first in 2011 and most recently in 2019. Over the years, he has also earned other honors, including Fans’ Favourite Player of the Year, Top Goal Scorer of All Time, Best Middle East Player, and Player of the Century 2001–2020.
Lionel Messi has won a Globe Soccer Award only once, in 2015, after shining with Barcelona and winning the UEFA Champions League. The Argentine forward has not won any awards in other categories since then.
