Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas has been presented with the 2017 Golden Foot award at a ceremony at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco.
The award, which is designed to recognise the long-standing achievements of players in terms of both their skills and personality, has been presented since 2003, when Roberto Baggio, then of Brescia, picked up the prize.
Winners, who must be at least 28 and still playing, have the honour of leaving a permanent footprint - or in Casillas' case handprint - on Monaco’s ‘Champions Promenade’ along the seafront.
Reacting to his win, which came about after he was voted for by fans after being placed on a shortlist by journalists, Casillas tweeted: “Very happy with the #GoldenFoot2017. Thank you for all the support.”
The 36-year-old beat off competition from nine other players, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez to claim the award.
He has a lengthy list of honours to his name after a glorious playing career that has seen him win three Champions Leagues, five Spanish league titles, as well as the World Cup and two European Championships with Spain.
While Casillas received recognition off the field this week, on it he faces a battle to regain his starting berth with Porto after head coach Sergio Conceicao admitted that he had been dropped due to his poor attitude in training.
WHO HAS WON THE GOLDEN FOOT AWARD?
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Roberto Baggio | Brescia |
| 2004 | Pavel Nedved | Juventus |
| 2005 | Andriy Shevchenko | Milan |
| 2006 | Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| 2007 | Alessandro Del Piero | Juventus |
| 2008 | Roberto Carlos | Fenerbahce |
| 2009 | Ronaldinho | Milan |
| 2010 | Francesco Totti | Roma |
| 2011 | Ryan Giggs | Manchester United |
| 2012 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | PSG |
| 2013 | Didier Drogba | Galatasaray |
| 2014 | Andres Iniesta | Barcelona |
| 2015 | Samuel Eto'o | Antalyaspor |
| 2016 | Gianluigi Buffon | Juventus |
| 2017 | Iker Casillas | Porto |
