PETER CROUCH BEATS RONALDO AND CO TO UEFA AWARD

Peter Crouch wins Uefa's 'best acrobatic goal' poll

He may not have won a Ballon d'Or or played in a World Cup final, but Peter Crouch has trumped some of football's greatest players.

And the modest Crouch hasn't put his win down to skill, instead claiming it's because of a desperate plea.

Now playing for Burnley at the age of 38, the striker - all 6ft 7in of him - has won a vote for the best acrobatic goal ever scored in the Champions League, beating Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Mario Mandzukic.

Crouch's spectacular overhead kick for Liverpool in their Champions League Group C match against Galatasaray in 2006 was one of the four goals shortlisted by Uefa, with fans then asked to vote for their favourite.

The other goals in contention were Bale's strike against Liverpool in last season's Champions League final, Mandzukic's goal for Juventus in the 2017 Champions League final, and Ronaldo's strike against Juventus while he was playing for Real Madrid last year.

And after a cheeky plea on social media which may or may not have influenced the result - the goal's an absolute banger after all - Crouch received more than half of the 154,341 votes.

"I'm sure I won because I was the most desperate one and appealed for help. Those boys have won loads, and you've got to spread the big trophies around," Crouch told BBC Sport.

Crouch received 54% of the votes, Ronaldo was second with 26%, Bale got 15%, and Mandzukic came away with 5%.