Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Argentina has won the Ballon d'Or 2009 award, making him the first player
from his country to be crowned World Footballer of the Year.
The 22-year-old has now occupied all of the top three places,
having debuted in third in 2007 before rising to second last
year.
Furthermore, Messi has won by the greatest margin ever recorded in
the history of this venerable competition. Out of a possible 480
points, Lionel scored 473 - a new record, and far ahead of the man
in second place, namely last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo. The
Portuguese managed 233 points.
In winning the prize, awarded by France Football following voting
by a panel of journalists from across the world, Messi becomes the
youngest Ballon d'Or winner since Michael Owen's win as a
21-year-old in 2001.
In a year that Barcelona won an historic treble of the Liga, the
Champions League, and the Copa del Rey, it seemed inconceivable
that a player without the Blaugrana shirt would receive the
award.
Barca midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi were also shortlised, but
Messi was considered favorite by virtually every observer.
As such it was no surprise when he was confirmed as the winner late
on Monday evening.
Teammate Xavi, meanwhile, is said to have ended up in third
place.
1 Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona), 473
points
2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid),
233
3 Xavi (Spain, Barcelona), 170
4 Andres Iniesta (Spain, Barcelona), 149
5 Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon, Internazionale),
75
6 Kaká (Brazil, Real Madrid), 58
7 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, Barcelona),
50
8 Wayne Rooney (England, Manchester United),
35
9 Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Chelsea), 33
10 Steven Gerrard (England, Liverpool), 32
11 Fernando Torres (Spain, Liverpool), 22
12 Cesc Fábregas (Spain, Arsenal), 13
13 Edin Dzeko (Bosnia, Wolfsburg), 12
14 Ryan Giggs (Wales, Manchester United),
11
15 Thierry Henry (France, Barcelona), 9
16= Luis Fabiano (Brazil, Sevilla) 8
16= Nemanja Vidic (Serbia, Manchester United),
8
16= Iker Casillas (Spain, Real Madrid), 8
19 Diego Forlan (Uruguay, Atlético Madrid),
7
20 Yoann Gourcuff (France, Bordeaux), 6
21= Andrey Arshavin (Russia, Arsenal), 5
21= Júlio César (Brazil, Inter), 5
21= Frank Lampard (England, Chelsea), 5
24 Maicon (Brazil, Inter), 4
25 Diego (Brazil, Juventus), 3
26= David Villa (Spain, Valencia), 2
26= John Terry (England, Chelsea), 2
28 Franck Ribéry (France, Bayern Munich), 1
28= Yaya Touré (Ivory Coast, Barcelona), 1
30 Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid), 0
