Gremio forward Luis Suarez from Uruguay became the winner of the Ballon d’Or, which is awarded to the best football player of the Brazilian championship, EFE reports.

Luis Suarez, the best player of the Brazilian football championship

Suarez, who also won the best striker award, scored 17 league goals and was the main architect of Gremio’s second-place finish at the end of the season.

“When I was almost 37, it was the year I played the most games of my career, the year I spent the most time away from my wife and children. The award went to them,” Suarez said in a short speech.

For the entire season, Suarez played 42 matches, scoring 22 goals and 14 decisive assists. The team won the state championship of Rio Grande do Sul and also finished second in the Brazilian championship a year after moving to the first division.

The other day, Suarez said goodbye to Gremio fans. According to international media reports, he would join Inter Miami from the US, where he will find his good friend Lionel Messi, with whom he played for Spanish team FC Barcelona.

At the awards ceremony, 17-year-old Palmeiras footballer Andric, who will play for Real Madrid, won two awards: one as the best player of the year and the other for the most beautiful goal scored in the 34th round against Botafogo, reports Agerpres .

Palmeiras were crowned champions on Wednesday for the second year in a row and Andric was the main character in the latter part of the season.