IAfter winning six titles in a near-perfect season, it was clear that PSG would be crowned the big winners at the 16th Globe Soccer Gala held at the state-of-the-art Royal Palm Hotel in Dubai. Winners of the Champions League, Intercontinental, European Super Cup, French League, French Cup and French Super Cup, Luis Enrique’s team only missed out on qualifying for the new Club World Cup. To understand the merits of such a feat, suffice it to say that only two teams in the history of football have been able to win six titles in the same season: Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in 2009 and Flick’s Bayern Munich in 2020.
The Globe Soccer Gala paid tribute to the French champions, who suffered a lot over the past decade before winning the coveted European Cup. If there are six titles won, then PSG has collected seven awards in Dubai: Best Player (Dembele), Best Manager (Luis Enrique), Best Club, Best Midfielder (Vitinha), Best Young Player (Doue), Best Sporting Director (Luis Campos) and Best President (Al-Khelaifi). Reflecting on this difficult journey, the President said, “After many years of hard work, we have finally achieved this important victory. It has been a great journey. It is not individualistic, but a collective effort.” However, he acknowledged that even if he could go back 10 years, “I would not change anything. Today we are a different generation with a different philosophy,” and concluded by asserting, “To continue on this path, we must remain humble.”
exceptional year
Ousmane Dembele was named player of the match and admitted: “We have had an exceptional year, even though the first half of the season was very difficult. But we have to keep fighting despite the difficulties.” Vicinha was named the best midfielder thanks to his generous yet charming football. Desiree Douai, the best young player, said she was “living a dream” and warned that she would “work hard to become the best in the world.” Finally, Luis Enrique did not attend the gala and did not send a message of thanks, as was the case with Aitana Bommatti, who won the best player trophy for the third year in a row. Their awards received little attention among those in attendance, as neither of them had sent a video. Barcelona repeated their title as the best women’s club despite not winning the Champions League.
Ramin doesn’t want comparisons
Lamine Yamal won three awards at the Globe Soccer Gala: LaLiga’s best young player, best striker and the Maradona Trophy. He avoids comparisons (“It’s better not to compare yourself to anyone. Players like Cristiano have been who they are because they don’t compare themselves to anyone and want to be themselves.”), admitting: “Last year I was a new kid, but now I have the pressure of being an important player. Thank God it worked out.” Andres Iniesta and Hidetoshi Nakata received awards for their entire football careers.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Middle East Player of the Year award and warned he will not stop until he scores 1,000 goals and proves he is more immortal than ever. To prove that, he is sponsoring a new award, Globe Sport, to recognize the best athletes beyond football, the first of which went to his friend Novak Djokovic, and he said he was surprised when he learned about it a few days ago. “When you turn 38 and your body hurts and it’s difficult to train, when you see Cristiano and what he’s doing, it’s a big motivation for everyone,” the Serbian tennis player said in words.
Tribute to Diogo Jota
Undoubtedly, the emotional moment of the gala was when celebrity agent Jorge Mendes called on the late Diogo Jota’s parents, Joaquín and Isabel, to the stage to receive a special award that the organizers of the Globe Soccer Gala wanted to pay tribute to the much-loved late Liverpool footballer. Diogo Jota died in a car accident in Zamora in July, along with his brother Andre Silva. After watching the video about his career, the applause given to him by the entire audience present at the gala was overwhelming.
