Cristiano Ronaldo’s amazing overhead kick for Real Madrid against Juventus has won the UEFA Goal of the Season award.
Ronaldo was nominated as the Champions League representative over Gareth Bale, who struck a similarly acrobatic effort in Madrid’s final win over Liverpool.
The Portugal captain succeeds new Juventus team-mate Mario Mandzukic as the winner of a prize which Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has won twice.
UEFA confirmed Ronaldo was the runaway winner of the award, with the 33-year-old’s remarkable April 3 effort receiving 197,496 votes, over five times as many as any other goal.
Dimitri Payet came second for his dribble and finish in Marseille’s defeat of RB Leipzig in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
And third place went to Eva Navarro after her fine goal for Spain in the European Women’s Under-17 Championship final.
Ronaldo, who is yet to score for Juventus in two Serie A games for his new club, has revealed the reaction from Bianconeri fans to his award-winning goal was a factor in his decision to join the Italian champions.
“The small details make the big difference at the end of the day so… I would say what I saw in the stadium helped,” Ronaldo said at his unveiling as DAZN’s first Global Ambassador. “Not 100 per cent of course, but some parts make you think.”
“Thanks to everyone who voted for me,” Ronaldo wrote on Twitter after being named the award’s winner.
“Will never forget that moment, specially the reaction of the fans in the stadium.”
