UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Cristiano Ronaldo to be awarded at Champions League draw, what accolade will the striker receive?
UEFA have confirmed that the current Al Nassr and Portugal striker will be decorated in Monaco as part of the UCL draw ceremony.
The focus from the global football community on Thursday will be firmly fixed on Monaco ahead of the Champions League draw (start time 12:00 pm ET). The event at the Grimaldi Forum will be more than just balls being drawn from bowls and supercomputers doing their thing in selecting the four home and away opponents each team will now play as part of the new UCL 36 league phase which replaces the traditional group stage.
During the course of the ceremony, UEFA will also hand out a series of awards relating to the 2024-25 Champions League season with: Goalkeeper of the Season, Defender of the Season, Midfielder of the Season, Forward of the Season, Player of the Season and Coach of the Season awards to be distributed.
UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin will also be on hand to award Gianluigi Buffon the prestigious President’s Award, which recognises outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities in the game. The former keeper made 176 international appearances with the Azzurri and is the most capped goalkeeper of all time, the most capped player in the history of the Italy national team and the fourth-most capped European player ever.
Cristiano award
The other special homage of the evening will be handed to Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite moving to Saudi Arabia in the winter of 2021, the Portuguese striker remains the all-time leading goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League.
In his time with Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, the Madeira born striker scored 140 Champions League goals in 183 appearances.
In his time in European football, Ronaldo bagged one Champions League winners medal with Manchester United and won the title four times with Real Madrid (2008, 2014, 2017).
The striker, now aged, 39 embarks on his second full season in the Roshn Saudi League with his club side Al Nassr as they look to break Al-Hilal’s recent stranglehold on silverware in Saudi Arabia.