Wins the FIFA World Player of the Year Award by a huge margin
After proving his mettle by a unanimous win in the European Footballer of the Year 2009 awards, Messi has done it yet again. The Barcelona start has drubbed rival Christiano Ronaldo to lift the FIFA World Player of the Year 2009 trophy.
Source (goal.com)
Messi, who described his presence at the FIFA Gala as “the culmination of a year that cannot be improved upon”, has managed to indeed go one better, sealing the only title still evading him.
The diminutive Argentine beat off competition from the a host of the world’s best including team-mates Andreas Iniesta and Xavi, as well as Real Madrid stars Kaka and Christiano Ronaldo, with the Portuguese having already admitted that “he [Messi] will probably win the award”.
The crown capped a quite incredible year for the 22-year-old Argentinian forward who, as a pivotal member of Pep Guardiola’s all conquering Barca squad, beat Estudiantes in FIFA’s Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi on Saturday to lift their sixth title in the last 12 months.
Messi will add FIFA’s prestigious title to pretty much every individual award in European football; having already been crowned UEFA Club Forward of the Year, UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and UEFA Champions League Top Scorer amongst a host of other individual titles.
Messi’s incredible achievements will go down as one of the most successful seasons ever endured by a single player in club football history.
| Player | Points |
| Lionel Messi | 1073 |
| Christiano Ronaldo | 352 |
| Xavi | 196 |
| Kaka | 190 |
| Andres Iniesta | 134 |
Here’s a look at the previous award winners:
France’s Zidane and Brazil’s Ronaldo have won it thrice. Last year’s winner Christiano Ronaldo was the youngest player to have won it. FIFA’s World Cup of the Year Award is indeed the most anticipated soccer honors. Here’s a list of players who have won this award in the past:
1996 Ronaldo
1997 Ronaldo
1998 Zinedine Zidane
1999 Rivaldo
2000 Zinedine Zidane
2001 Luís Figo
2002 Ronaldo
2003 Zinedine Zidane
2004 Ronaldinho
2005 Ronaldinho
2006 Fabio Cannavaro
2007 Kaka
2008 Christiano Ronaldo
2009 Lionel Messi
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