Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah are among the confirmed finalists for the upcoming Dubai Globe Soccer Awards taking place later this month on 27 December 2020.

For the first time in over 10 years, the finalists have been entirely chosen by the fans. Soccer supporters from all over the world have voted for their favourite international players, clubs, coaches and agents, shortlisting international names in seven categories. The winner of the eighth category, the Player Career Award, will be announced on the night itself.

In partnership with the Dubai Sports Council, this year’s Dubai Globe Soccer Awards will be a special edition due to the impact of Covid-19 on the world of football. It will still recognise the best talent of 2020, but it will also highlight the sport’s legendary figures from the past 20 years.

The Dubai Sports Council and Globe Soccer Awards will strengthen their 12-year relationship by staging the annual edition of the Dubai International Sports Conference prior to the Awards ceremony. The Dubai International Sports Conference, which has hosted over 200 speakers since its first edition, will once again welcome some of the football’s most prominent international players.

Juventus FC player Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi have both been shortlisted for Player of the Century 2001-2020 and Player of the Year 2020. Alongside Ronaldo and Messi in the Player of the Century category, is Liverpool and Egypt’s national team star, Mohamed Salah and former player Ronaldinho.

Recognising the players who have showed skills above and beyond expectations during this unexpected year,is Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski who is nominated alongside Ronaldo and Messi forPlayer of the Year 2020. Lewandowski received a tremendous number of votes in this category and is emerging as one of this year’s most popular players.

After displaying success season after season, Bayern Munichand Real Madrid have been shortlisted for Club of the Century 2001-2020and also Club of the Year 2020.Messi’s club Barcelona has also been shortlisted by the fans for Club of the Century 2001-2020 alongside Al-Ahly. Salah’s club, Liverpool, is the third nominee in the Club of the Year 2020 category.

Earlier today, organisers of the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards unveiled all the finalists:

• Player of the Century,Finalists 2001-2020:Juventus FC’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and former player Ronaldinho alongside Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah
• Coach of the Century, Finalists 2001-2020:Alex Ferguson (former Manchester United), Josep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), and Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
• Club of the Century, Finalists 2001-2020: Al-Ahly, BayernMunich, Barcelona and Real Madrid

• Agent of the Century, Finalists 2001-2020:Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes andMino Raiola
• Player of the Year, Finalists 2020:Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski
• Club of the Year, Finalists 2020: Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Real Madrid
• Coach of the Year, Finalists 2020:Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich) and Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool)

• Player Career Award: To be announced

The second round of voting is now open to choose the winner in seven of the categories. The public can vote through vote.globesoccer.com from today, with the winners unveiled at the ceremony on 27 December 2020. Voting will take place on Globe Soccer’s website, on the new event title sponsor TikTok, as well as via the media partners platform, Kooora, in the Arab region. The winners will be chosen by the fans and the Globe Soccer Jury, which comprises a panel of leading industry experts.