Cristiano Ronaldo won the inaugural FIFA Puskás Award in 2009.
The award was created by FIFA to honour the most beautiful goal of the year, and its first winner was announced in December 2009. Ronaldo’s winning strike was a long-range goal for Manchester United against Porto in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League.
The goal came at Old Trafford on 15 April 2009 in the quarter-final second leg. Ronaldo hit the ball from roughly 40 yards, sending it past goalkeeper Helton. Manchester United won the match 1–0 and advanced to the semifinals, while the spectacular strike became the first Puskás Award winner.
The year can cause confusion because the goal was scored during the 2008–09 season, but the award itself was presented in 2009. The prize is named after Ferenc Puskás, the celebrated Hungarian forward, and later winners have included Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Mohamed Salah.