Steven Gerrard has congratulated Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United icon won the Player Career Award at the Globe Soccer Awards on Thursday evening.
Rooney, 37, and Gerrard, 42, were rivals for several years, as Liverpool endured many famous battles against bitter rivals United. Former England captain Rooney also played for Everton, Liverpool's Merseyside rivals, at the beginning and end of his glittering career.
Rooney was one of many footballers to be honoured at the 2022 Globe Soccer Awards. The ceremony, nicknamed the 'Dubai d'Or', has been held every year in Dubai since 2010 and dishes out many unique awards - including the Scout of the Year gong.
Rooney, who was called a "rat" by Cristiano Ronaldo earlier this week, attended this year's ceremony in Dubai to receive his gong. He posted a picture of his prize on Instagram and wrote: "Thanks for a great night Globe Soccer. Honour to win the career award."
The iconic forward was congratulated by the likes of Paul Scholes, Anthony Martial, Antonio Valencia, Adnan Januzaj, Phil Neville, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Alex Bruce and former England team-mate Gerrard. The latter simply replied: "Love it Wazza."
In a statement from the Globe Soccer Awards, Rooney was described as "incomparable" and "the most brilliant English attacker of recent generations". He was also a "great star" at United after winning a host of trophies - including five Premier League titles.
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Globe Soccer replied to Rooney's post: "The honour was all ours." The other two recipients of the Player Career Award on Thursday were Brazilian icon Romario and AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic. All three players are widely regarded as legends of the game.
The biggest awards of the evening went to Karim Benzema and Alexia Putellas, who were named as the Men's Player of the Year and the Women's Player of the Year respectively. Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, was awarded the TikTok Fans' Player of the Year prize.
Other award winners included Sergio Ramos (Best Defender of All Time), Erling Haaland and Manchester City (Transfer of the Year), Florentino Perez (President of the Year), Carlo Ancelotti (Coach of the Year) and Victor Osimhen (Emerging Player of the Year).
There was also a prize for new Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, who received the Coach Career Award for winning four Europa Leagues, among other honours. He follows in the footsteps of Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi and Pep Guardiola.
Previous recipients of the Player Career Award include Ronaldinho, Iker Casillas, Gerard Pique, Blaise Matuidi, Carlos Puyol, Francesco Totti, Javier Zanetti, Samuel Eto'o, Frank Lampard, Filippo Inzaghi, Deco, Alessandro Del Piero and Brazil legend Ronaldo.
While Cristiano Ronaldo is still to receive the Player Career Award, he was named as the Player of the 21st Century ahead of long-term rival Lionel Messi in 2020. The late, great Diego Maradona was named the Player of the 20th Century in 2012.
