'The trophies? Don't worry, I have space'

Former Italy and Juventus striker Alessandro Del Piero was the man tasked with presenting Ronaldo the award, though it was a virtual handover in the end, with Ronaldo unable to fly out to the UAE for the ceremony.

When asked by the Italian where he kept all his awards, Ronaldo was in a jovial mood, replying: "Don't worry, I have plenty of space."

"It's a special moment for me and I am very happy to receive this award," the Portuguese continued.

"I'd like to thank my manager, my team-mates and also Real Madrid.

Ronaldo beat out Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Neymar, Paulo Dybala, Kylian Mbappe and Gianluigi Buffon to claim the prize and he was keen to express his gratitude to those who voted for him.

"Thank you to everyone who voted for me, do it again next year," were Ronaldo's parting words, showing that he has no plans to wind down his career quite yet.

It marks the end of a tremendous year for the 32-year-old, who helped Real Madrid to five titles, as well as winning the Ballon d'Or and FIFA's 'The Best' award.