FIFA Puskás Award

Hungary professional footballer Eponyms and public art Related The FIFA Puskás Award [ˈpuʃkaːʃ] is an award established on 20 October 2009 by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), at the behest of then-president Sepp Blatter, to be awarded to the player judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant, or "most beautiful", goal of the calendar year.

Puskás is widely considered by many to be the most powerful and prolific forward Europe produced in first-division football and was honoured by IFFHS in 1997 as the best top-tier goalscorer of the 20th century.

Ferenc Puskás was not only a player with immense talent who won many honours, but also a remarkable man.

[citation needed] Until 2018, the winner was decided completely based on votes from fans on FIFA's official website.

Now, the award is decided by pundits selected by FIFA, who will choose the winner based on the top three goals voted for by the public.

The award has seen a wide variety of winners, from lesser-known players to global superstars, highlighting the best goals across all levels of competition.

FIFA Puskás Award
Cristiano Ronaldo was the first recipient of the award for his long-range goal against Porto from 40 yards out. Former Dutch international Ruud Gullit called it a "strike", while former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said, "I would have to go a long way back in the memory bank to find another one like that!" [ 8 ]
Zlatan Ibrahimović's 35-yard overhead kick with his back to goal won him praise from players and pundits, with the BBC describing it as a goal that "combined unfathomable imagination and expert technique". [ 11 ]
James Rodríguez's volley was described as "one of the greatest goals the World Cup has ever seen" by Uruguayan manager Óscar Tabárez , who also called Rodríguez "the best player in the World Cup". [ 13 ]
Olivier Giroud's backheeled "scorpion kick" volley was described by then-Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger as one of the five best in his Arsenal reign. [ 20 ]
Lionel Messi has been nominated a record seven times, more than any other in the award's history, but has never won the award. [ 6 ]