The award is a recognition of Ronaldo’s stunning form for Real Madrid over the last 12 months, as well as his starring role in Portugal’s World Cup qualification. In November, he scored all four goals in his country’s play-off victory. Paris Saint-Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose Sweden side were defeated by Portugal in those games, finished fourth in the poll. Arjen Robben, scorer of the winning goal in Bayern Munich’s Champions League Final victory over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley last May, was fifth and Neymar, the star of Brazil’s success in last summer’s Confederations Cup, finished sixth The other winners of the World Soccer Awards, now in their 31st year, were Jupp Heynckes and Bayern Munich, emphatic winners of the Manager and Team of the Year respectively. The awards were decided by votes from a panel of journalists and pundits from around the globe. Members of the panel chose their top 10 players of the year, with points (ranging from one to 10) awarded to each selection.