It was more disappointment for Robert Lewandowski, who after losing out on the 2021 Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi in a controversial vote, also missed out on the Globe Soccer Award’s Men’s Player of the Year award. 

Only a few weeks after Messi finished ahead of the Bayern Munich star forward in France Football’s vote involving media members around the world, the Globe Soccer Award ceremony didn’t remedy what many felt to be an injustice given the 2021 campaign put forth by the Polish forward.

It was Kylian Mbappe who came away with the 2021 Globe Soccer award, despite falling well short of Lewandowski’s achievements. The Bayern striker scored 69 goals during the calendar year, widely recognized as second-best scoring year ever and matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2013. Lewandowski also won the Bundesliga title, the German Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and set the record for most Bundesliga goals in a calendar year.

The 23-year-old Mbappe, who finished 9th in the Ballon d’Or voting, had 51 total goals for club and country in 2021, help PSG to a French Cup trophy, but falling short of the Ligue 1 title by a point and losing in the Champions League semifinals to Manchester City, though Mbappe was injured and missed the second leg. The French attacker also scored eight goals for France in 2021, helping the world champions to win the 2021 UEFA Nations League.

Lewandowski will have to console himself with the Fan’s Player of the Year award, which was the final honor unveiled on the night with the event presenters framing it as the showpiece award of the gala. It is definitely debatable as to whether it’s a more prestigious award, especially given the qualifier on the title.

Similar to what occurred at the Ballon d’Or gala in Paris, Lewandowski also came away with a separate Globe Soccer award for the most prolific striker (the inaugural Diego Maradona award). The inaugural Striker of the Year award at the Ballon d’Or event was interpreted by many as a consolation prize for the 33-year-old forward.

Held in Dubai every year, the Globe Soccer Awards have become a fixture on the annual list of football honors alongside the Ballon d’Or and The Best FIFA Football Awards. Started in 2010, the Globe Soccer Awards stand out for also recognizing coaches, executives and beginning in 2021 esports players.

Below are the results of the 12 primary Globe Soccer Awards and other ancillary honors awarded on Monday, Dec. 27.

https://youtu.be/6YW7JGaaTvg

2021 Men’s Player of the Year

Winner: Kylian Mbappe (PSG / France)

Robert Lewandowski missed out on the Globe Soccer Award’s Men’s Player of the Year honor, settling instead for the 2021 Fans’ Player of the Year award.

Player	Club	National Team	Age
Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	France	34
Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	Poland	33
Kylian Mbappe	PSG	France	23
Lionel Messi	PSG	Argentina	34
Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	Portugal	36
Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	Egypt	29

2021 Women’s Player of the Year

Winner: Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona / Spain)

The Women’s Ballon d’Or winner also claimed the Globe Soccer Award for best female player.

Four of the six finalists for the Globe Soccer Awards Women’s Player of the Year honor were in the Top 20 for the Ballon d’Or. 

Player	Club	National Team	Age
Lucy Bronze	Manchester City	England	30
Jennifer Hermoso	FC Barcelona	Spain	31
Sam Kerr	Chelsea	Australia	28
Lieke Martens	FC Barcelona	Netherlands	29
Alex Morgan	San Diego Wave FC	USA	32
Alexia Putellas	FC Barcelona	Spain	29

2021 Men’s Club of the Year

Winner: Chelsea (England)

The six clubs up for this award included the Champions League winners in Europe, Asia and Africa and it’s the best team in Europe that took the prize.

Club	Country	2021 Honors
Al Ahly	Egypt	CAF Champions League winner CAF Super Cup winner Egyptian Premier League runner-up
Al Hilal	Saudi Arabia	AFC Champions League winner Saudi Pro League champion Saudi Super Cup runner-up
Atletico Madrid	Spain	La Liga champions
Chelsea	England	UEFA Champions League winner FA Cup finalist
Flamengo	Brazil	Copa Libertadores runner-up Brazil Serie A runner-up Campeonato Carioca champion Supercopa do Brasil winner Copa do Brasil semi-finalist
Manchester City	England	English Premier League champion English League Cup winner UEFA Champions League finalist FA Cup semi-finalist

2021 Women’s Club of the Year

Winner: FC Barcelona (Spain)

As the UEFA Women’s Champions League winner and Spanish champion, FC Barcelona was a compelling favorite ahead of the best team in England, Chelsea, which it defeated in the Champions League final.

Barcelona star and Women’s Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas accepted the award. Here’s the list of finalists:

Club	Country	2021 Honors
Barcelona	Spain	UEFA Women’s Champions League winners Spain Primera Division champion Copa de la Reina winners Spain Supercopa semifinalist
Bayern Munich	Germany	Frauen Bundesliga champion UEFA Champions League semifinalist Saudi Super Cup runner-up
Chelsea	England	FA Women’s Super League champion Women’s FA Cup winner Women’s League Cup winner Women’s Community Shield winner UEFA Women’s Champions League runner-up
Manchester City	England	FA Women’s Super League runner-up Women’s FA Cup semifinalist UEFA Women’s Champions League quarterfinalist
Paris Saint-Germain	France	France Division 1 champion UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinalist

2021 Men’s Defender of the Year

Winner: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus / Italy)

Bonucci, who finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or voting, won the Defender of the Year award for leading Italy on its run to the UEFA Euro 2021 title.

Including Bonucci, four of the six finalists were also in the running for the FIFA Ballon d’Or. 

Player	Club	National Team	Age
Trent Alexander-Arnold	Liverpool	England	23
Cesar Azpilicueta	Chelsea	Spain	32
Leonardo Bonucci	Juventus	Italy	34
Giorgio Chiellini	Juventus	Italy	37
Ruben Dias	Manchester City	Portugal	24
Antonio Rudiger	Chelsea	Germany	28

2021 Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year

Winner: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG / Italy)

The Yashin Trophy winner claimed another piece of silverware after helping Italy win the UEFA Euro 2021 title with his penalty-kick heroics. 

All the other finalists were among the Top 10 players eligible for the Yashin Trophy award at the Ballon d’Or event.

Player	Club	National Team	Age
Thibaut Courtois	Real Madrid	Belgium	29
Gianluigi Donnarumma	PSG	Italy	22
Emiliano Martinez	Aston Villa	Argentina	29
Edouard Mendy	Chelsea	Senegal	29
Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	Germany	35

2021 Men’s Coach of the Year

Winner: Roberto Mancini

The Italian national team made a clean sweep of the trophies for which the team and its players were eligible. Mancini not only led Italy to the Euro 2021 title, but also to a record 37-match unbeaten streak.

But Mancini will have his work cut out for him to help Italy to make the 2022 World Cup after dropping into the playoffs, where the Italians will likely have to contend with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.

The men’s Coach of the Year was always going to be an interesting selection, especially when it came to weighing the achievements of club coaches and national team coaches.

Coach	Team	Age	2021 Honors
Didier Deschamps	France	53	UEFA Nations League winner UEFA Euro 2021 Rd of 16 FIFA World Cup qualification
Hansi Flick	Bayern Munich / Germany	56	Bundesliga champion FIFA Club World Cup winner UEFA Champions League quarterfinalist FIFA World Cup qualification
Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	50	English Premier League champion English League Cup winner UEFA Champions League finalist FA Cup semi-finalist
Roberto Mancini	Italy	57	UEFA Euro 2021 winner UEFA Nations League semifinalist 37-match record unbeaten streak
Lionel Scaloni	Argentina	43	Copa America 2021 winner FIFA World Cup qualification 27-match unbeaten streak
Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	48	UEFA Champions League winner FA Cup finalist

2021 Men’s National Team of the Year

Winner: Italy

After Leonardo Bonucci and Gigi Donnarumma won the best defender and best goalkeeper awards, Italy claimed the honor for best national team in the world for 2021.

Among the other finalists, Argentina also had a compelling case when taking into account its impressive unbeaten run though it did not quite reach the Italians’ level.

Nation	2021 Honors
Argentina	Copa America 2021 winner FIFA 2022 World Cup qualification 27-match unbeaten streak
Brazil	Copa America finalist FIFA 2022 World Cup qualification 1st place South America qualifying
France	UEFA Nations League winner UEFA Euro 2021 Rd of 16 FIFA 2022 World Cup qualification
Italy	UEFA Euro 2021 winner UEFA Nations League semifinalist 37-match record unbeaten streak
Morocco	2021 African Nations Championship winner FIFA Arab Cup quarterfinalist

2021 Sporting Director of the Year

Winner: Txiki Beguiristain (Manchester City)

Manchester City had an incredibly successful 2021 year, winning the English Premier League, the English League Cup and reaching the final of the 2021 UEFA Champions League.

The other finalists were executives who similarly constructed teams that excelled in 2021, including Italian Serie A champions Inter Milan and reigning French champs Lille.

Name	Club	Age	Nationality
Piero Ausilio	Inter Milan	47	Italy
Txiki Begiristain	Manchester City	57	Spain
Luis Campos	N/A (ex-Lille)	57	Portugal
Roberto Olabe	Real Sociedad	54	Spain
Marc Overmars	Ajax	48	Netherlands

2021 Agent of the Year

Winner: Federico Pastorello

An award for the agents! A couple of these are household names among football fans.

Pastorello was front-and-center in the $135-million Romelu Lukaku transfer from Inter Milan to Chelsea.

Agent	Age	Agency	Prominent Clients
Jonathan Barnett	71	ICM Stellar Sports	Jack Grealish Gareth Bale
Jorge Mendes	55	Gestifute	Cristiano Ronaldo Ruben Dias Joao Cancelo Bernardo Silva
Federico Pastorello	48	P&P Sport Management	Romelu Lukaku Kasper Schmeichel
Mino Raiola	54	N/A — Client List	Erling Haaland Gigi Donnarumma Paul Pogba
Pini Zahavi	78	N/A — Client List	Robert Lewandowski Christopher Nkunku

Esports Player of the Year

Winner: Mosaad Aldossary (Msdossary7)

Some of the top esports players from Asia, Europe and South America were represented among the five finalists for this inaugural award.

Name	Aka	Nationality	Current Team
Mosaad Aldossary	Msdossary7	Saudi Arabia	Team Falcons
Nicolas Villalba	Nicolas99fc	Argentina	Guild Esports
Niklas Raseck	NRaseck	Germany	Guild Esports
Corentin Chevrey	RocKy	France	Team Vitality
Donovan Hunt	Tekkz	United Kingdom	Fnatic

Miscellaneous Awards

The Globe Soccer Awards also managed to recognize Cristiano Ronaldo with one of the other awards handed out on the night:

• Top Goal Scorer of All-Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United / Portugal)
• Career Award: Ronaldinho (Brazil)
• Diego Maradona Award (most prolific scorer): Robert Lewandowski (Bayern / Poland)
• Africa Youth Academy of the Year: Zed FC(Egypt)
• Innovation Award: Serie A (Italy)