January 6 – With the Middle East becoming a global player in the world of football, the next natural step is to create a show that can out-muscle the Ballon d’Or and FIFA’s world’s best player awards.
Last week Dubai, hosted the 15th Beyond Developments Soccer Award in a truly lavish ceremony. It was a “truly unforgettable” evening, the organiser modestly said, and “delivered a night of unparalleled glamour, emotion, and football fever”.
With 12 main awards categories, more than 70 million votes were reportedly cast as the public selected nominees from a list while the official judging panel, which included Iker Casillas, Francesco Totti, and Ian Rush makes the final decisions.
After the domestic success of Real Madrid in the men’s game and Barcelona in the women’s game, it wasn’t a surprise to see Madrid’s, Vinicius Jr, and Carlo Ancelotti pick up the best player and manager awards, while Aitana Bonmati won the best female player for her outstanding season in Catalunya.
With no Messi on hand to upset Cristiano Ronaldo, the organisers thumbed history, and Pele by naming CR7 the top goal scorer of all time, which left some head scratching as he also won that award in 2021.
Perhaps the weirdest award of the evening was presented to super-agent, Jorge Mendes (pictured) who has won the crown in 12 of the 14 years it has been presented.
“A mere five transfers are sufficient to justify thousands of votes and the expert panel’s decision to once again crown Jorge Mendes as the top representative for nurturing and guiding the cream of international football’s youth,” was the quote in the pre-award publicity.
While the awards are gaining recognition within the football industry, the perceived bias towards, Ronaldo and Mendes who have combined 22 wins has led to criticism that it’s a marketing vehicle for the Middle East and the two ‘Portu’geezers’.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1736265968labto1736265968ofdlr1736265968owedi1736265968sni@o1736265968fni1736265968