LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo has caught up with Lionel Messi to become a five-time winner of FIFA’s best player award.
The Real Madrid forward was crowned player of the year on Monday at the FIFA Best ceremony at the London Palladium theater attended by runner-up Messi and third-placed Neymar.
A second successive honor for Ronaldo was expected after a season in which the Portuguese eclipsed his award counterparts in the trophy stakes.
As well as Spanish league and Spanish Super Cup success, Ronaldo scored twice in the Champions League final against Juventus to win European soccer’s elite competition for the third time in four seasons.
Ronaldo’s coach at Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, was crowned coach of the year.
FIFA has shifted its award ceremony from its usual January slot to October so players are judged across a season — based on the typical European schedule — rather than the calendar year.
The women’s award honored the Netherlands’ success at the European Championship in August. Lieke Martens, who scored in the final win over Denmark, won the player’s award and Sarina Wiegman collected the coaching accolade.
The Puskas Award for best goal went to Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud for a scorpion-style kick. The Puskas Award-winning goal from an overhead back-heeled strike came on New Year’s Day in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the English Premier League.
Ronaldo joins Messi as five-time winner of FIFA player award
Ronaldo joins Messi as five-time winner of FIFA player award
Da Costa claims first win with Jaguar in Jeddah E-Prix Round 5
- The Portuguese driver led home Sebastien Buemi, with reigning champion Oliver Rowland completing the podium
JEDDAH: Antonio Felix da Costa delivered a flawless performance to give Jaguar TCS Racing their first win of the 2026 season in Round 5 of the Jeddah E-Prix on Saturday.
The Portuguese driver led home Sebastien Buemi, with reigning champion Oliver Rowland completing the podium.
Da Costa was the first of the lead group to activate both of his mandatory 50kW all-wheel-drive Attack Mode boosts, using the strategy to pull clear of his rivals.
He held on to win by 2.5 seconds, marking his first victory for Jaguar and his first since Portland in 2024.
The race saw several lead changes as drivers battled in an energy-critical contest.
Buemi moved into second using an attack mode overlap to edge Rowland, who had also led early on. Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara, despite securing back-to-back pole positions, had to settle for fourth, adding strong points but leaving the team wishing for more.
Dan Ticktum narrowly beat teammate Pepe Marti to fifth, while Jaguar’s Mitch Evans finished seventh.
Round 4 winner Pascal Wehrlein of Porsche could only manage eighth, ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne in the Citroen and Taylor Barnard of DS Penske.
In the championship standings, Wehrlein leads Mortara by six points (68-62), with Rowland on 49. In the teams’ table, Porsche sits on 113 points to Jaguar’s 86, while in the Manufacturers’ World Championship, Porsche holds 143 points to Jaguar’s 124.
