Cristiano Ronaldo wins Best European Sportsperson for second consecutive season

Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Add another award to Cristiano Ronaldo's trophy case. The Real Madrid star claimed the Best European Sportsperson of 2017 title on Thursday.

The Portuguese soccer star also claimed the title in 2016.

"Cristiano Ronaldo received another accolade for his excellent 2017," Real Madrid said in a news release. "After playing a key role in winning five titles with Real Madrid, the Portuguese forward has been chosen as the Best European Sportsperson of 2017 in a vote by 26 international news agencies."

"It's the second consecutive year that Cristiano has received this award, which since 1958 has been awarded by the Polish PAP agency. On this occasion, the Real Madrid player received 159 points, beating Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton [143] and tennis players Roger Federer [124] and Rafa Nadal [113]."

Real Madrid won La Liga and the UEFA Champions League this year behind the superstar forward. Ronaldo also claimed the Ballon d'Or on Dec. 7. He has won that award five times, tying FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi. Ronaldo also won his third UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award and his second Best FIFA Men's player award this year.

FC Barcelona currently tops the La Liga table, ahead of Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Real Madrid. Ronaldo has five goals in his last five games, but did not score in Real Madrid's 3-0 loss to Barcelona on Dec. 23 in El Clásico at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.