Doha, Qatar: Manchester United’s star, Alejandro Garnacho, has won FIFA Puskás Award for the best goal of the year 2024 for his brilliant overhead kick against Everton in the Premier League last season.
The Argentine stunned Goodison Park when he rose to meet Diogo Dalot’s cross and fire the ball beyond Jordan Pickford, with United legend and pundit Gary Neville calling it “the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen”.
He was announced the winner of the PUSKAS award at the Best FIFA Awards 2024 at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday evening.
Upon receiving the prize, Garnacho said in a video message: “I’m very proud to win this award, it’s a proud moment for me and my family. Thank you to everyone who voted for me, especially the United fans.”
“It was a great finish and I worked on this in training many times, but also it was a great move from the team, so it’s impossible to be here without my team-mates,” he added. “It was a special goal and I’ll always remember it, but there’s many more incredible moments to come with this team. We have a lot to look forward to together.”
The Argentine international beat out other notable nominees, including Uganda’s Denis Omedi, whose sensational rabona in a FUFA Super Eight clash between his side and KCCA on August 10, 2024, had caught global attention in the awards voting.
Omedi’s strike had earned recognition for its flair, but it was ultimately Garnacho’s acrobatic brilliance that won the award.
The Argentine is the only second Manchester United player to ever win the award, following on from his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, and also the first Premier League player to win it since Erik Lamela for Tottenham back in 2021.
The FIFA Puskás Award, named in honor of legendary Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskás, has become one of the most coveted accolades in world football.
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