Ballon d'Or winner Rodri leads for Dubai Globe Soccer world player of the year

Premier League stars including Erling Haaland, Rodri and Cole Palmer are set to battle it out for the player of the year award at an international event next month.

The annual Beyond Developments Dubai Globe Soccer Awards will take place alongside the 19th Dubai International Sports Conference, in partnership and support with Dubai Sports Council, on December 27.

Voting opened on Thursday to football fans across the world. They have until December 10 to have their say and the winners will be determined by a combination of fan votes and the Globe Soccer Jury, made up of legendary names such as Marcello Lippi, Francesco Totti, Iker Casillas and Luis Figo.

Last year, some 70 million people from more than 225 countries and territories cast their vote.

And this time out, eight Premier League stars are among the stacked list of 33 competitors vying for the Best Men's Player prize at the glittering gala.

Manchester City's Rodri will be hoping to replicate his triumph at the Ballon d'Or in Paris last month after winning the Premier League with his club and Euro 2024 with Spain.

His teammate Haaland scooped up the prize in Dubai in 2023 and is in with a shout this year after bagging 34 goals.

Palmer, meanwhile, carried Chelsea on his back last campaign before scoring a memorable goal in the Euro final against Spain. He already has seven goals in 11 Premier League appearances this season.

Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and William Saliba have been recognised for the outstanding form which has sent the Gunners surging towards the top of the league, but teammate and captain Martin Odegaard is a surprise snub.

The Norwegian may have missed the last couple of months through injury but that has only served to prove his impact on the side, with Mikel Arteta's men suffering a poor string of results with him on the sidelines.

City's Phil Foden receives a nomination on the strength of his 2023-24 campaign which saw him score 27 goals in 55 matches, while Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah and Aston Villa's shotstopper complete a strong Premier League contingent.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior has been offered up an opportunity to put his Ballon d'Or snub behind him and end the season with some silverware.

After news broke earlier on the day of the Paris ceremony that the selection panel had chosen Rodri as their victor, Real Madrid and Vinicius decided to pull the plug on their trip to the gala, held at the Theatre du Chatelet.

The Spanish giants had hoped that if their Brazilian forward was not given the nod, right-back Dani Carvajal might be handed the gong after winning La Liga, the Champions League and the Euros.

But when it was leaked today that the Man City man  was in fact the winner, Real reacted furiously and not a single club representative was there to watch their team win several honours at the event and their players place highly in the main list.

Carvajal is also in contention at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards along with teammate and England international Jude Bellingham who secured a league and Champions League double with Los Blancos last season.

Old stalwarts Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, winners of seven men's player of the year awards at the Dubai event over the years, also make the shortlist for their perfomances at Inter Miami and Al Nassr respectively.

As for best women's player, Aitana Bonmati will be aiming to follow up her Ballon d'Or nod with another honour here, while English stars Lucy Bronze, Lauren Hemp and Lauren James will be hoping to spring an upset.