Messi wins Ballon d'Or

Barcelona forward named the European Footballer of the Year

Last updated: 1st December 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Messi wins Ballon d'Or

Messi: European Footballer of the Year

I didn't expect to win with such a margin. The Golden Ball is very important to me.

Messi named European Footballer of the Year
Quotes of the week

Golden Ball results:

1. Lionel Messi (Barca), 473 points.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real), 233.
3. Xavi (Barcelona), 170.
4. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), 149.
5. Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan), 75.
6. Kaka (Real Madrid), 58.
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barca), 50.
8. Wayne Rooney (Man United), 35.
9. Didier Drogba (Chelsea), 33.
10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), 32.
11. Fernando Torres (Liverpool), 22.
12. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), 13.
13. Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg), 12.
14. Ryan Giggs (Man United), 11.
15. Thierry Henry (Barcelona), 9.
16. Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) 8.
(tie) Nemanja Vidic (Man United), 8.
(tie) Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), 8.
19. Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid), 7.
20. Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), 6.
21. Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal), 5.
(tie) Julio Cesar (Inter), 5.
(tie) Frank Lampard (Chelsea), 5.
24. Maicon (Inter), 4.
25. Diego (Juventus), 3.
26. David Villa (Valencia)
(tie) John Terry (Chelsea), 2.
28. Franck Ribery (Bayern M), 1.
(tie) Yaya Toure (Barcelona), 1.
30. Karim Benzema (Real), 0.

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has been named the European Footballer of the Year.

The Argentinean won the prestigious Ballon d'Or by a record margin from last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi, 22, becomes the sixth Barcelona player to take the award but the first for four years - since Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho.

The Argentinian won an unprecedented treble last season as the Catalan side won the UEFA Champions League, the Liga title and the Copa del Rey.

Messi was the top scorer in last year's Champions League with nine goals, including a header in the 2-0 final defeat of Manchester United in Rome.

The talented playmaker knew he was a serious contender to win the coveted prize, but did not expect to pip his rivals by such a wide margin.

Favourites

"Honestly, I knew that I was among the favourites because Barcelona had a fruitful year in 2009," he told French Football magazine.

"But I didn't expect to win with such a margin. The Golden Ball is very important to me.

"All the players who won it were great players, and some great players never won it."

Barca teammates were also hailed with midfielder Xavi taking third place with 170 points while Iniesta was fourth on 149.

In fifth place was Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, who left Barca to join Inter Milan. He was Barca's other scorer in the 2-0 final win over United.

The highest ranked Premier League star was Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, who finished in eighth place. He was closely followed by Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard.

Champions League. Click here to bet.

Comments (20)

  • Page 1 of 1
  • 1

Luca Fryachini (Manchester United fan) says...

I cant believe Rooney was 8th, he shouldn't even be on the list,

Posted 18:33 19th December 2009

Chris Heathman (Plymouth Argyle fan) says...

Messi is actually by far the best player in the world, he proved that in the champions league final, ronaldo is far too selfish and didn't care about his team mates just himself. messi can header and proved against madrid on sunday that he is one hardest players to win the ball off.

Posted 12:22 1st December 2009

Jonathan Hugh (Liverpool fan) says...

Well done Messi, i'm glad you beat Ronaldo by so much. I still think Torres should have been up there in the top 3 he is the best striker in the world, but Messi was outstanding last season.

Posted 12:21 1st December 2009

Bertie Bassett (Arsenal fan) says...

I'm confused!! Who the hell voted for Yaya Toure? He doesn't even play regular football!!

Posted 12:18 1st December 2009

Sean Healy says...

Nick Hadges writes that 'Messi cannot head the ball'. He seems to have forgotten the Champions League final, 2nd goal, from this year? Also, I watch Barca every week and the strength of Messi against ALL defenders is immense for the size and build of the man. The other thing he beats Ronaldo on is sheer courage. Every time he gets fouled he trys to keep going and/or bounces back for more.

Posted 12:15 1st December 2009

Alan Molyneux (Liverpool fan) says...

Best player in the world and a worthy winner. Surprised to see Ibrahimovic in the top 10 though, at best he should be 13th on that list.

Posted 12:14 1st December 2009

Man Man (Manchester United fan) says...

Missing from the list? Patrice Evra. Surely up there with the best.

Posted 12:11 1st December 2009

Bhavin Vadher (Barcelona fan) says...

It shows you that the premier league is no longer the dominant league, and that la liga have supassed that, 6 of the top 7 play in la liga (eto being the only player, having played in Spain for many years prior). Messi deserved to win and by a big distance to ronaldo aswell due to the fact that he helped his team achive the treble, and scored many goals during this years campain, ronaldo is a great player who deserved it last year but not this year round to the fact that he was injured most of the season, but still you can't knock his goal ratio this year. Iniesta will win it in the coming years.

Posted 12:00 1st December 2009

Chris Esslemont (Aberdeen fan) says...

Nick Hadges are u on the same planet???... Ronaldo may have all those attributes but he falls at the 1st point of contact and cries for a freekick!! Messi on the otherhand will keep going as he proved on more than atleast 5 occasions last season when he was kicked from piller to post, did he drop and cry for a freekick?... No, he kept on going! Messi is by far the better player..... and this win proves it!! Well Done little Leo!

Posted 11:54 1st December 2009

Wayne Thomas (Crystal Palace fan) says...

Messi thouroughly deserved to win the Ballon d'Or. He was by far the best player in europe last season. He scored 38 goals for barca last seaon, he was top scorer in the champions league, scored in the final of the champions league. And it wasn't just the goals that made him great last season. He provided plenty of assists and his link up play with xavi and iniesta was a sight to behold. He is also the best dribbler I have seen in a long time. People say ronaldo is a good dribbler but he isn't on messi's level. Ronaldo is very quick and strong and he can beat an opponent in a one on one situation. But messi can beat dribble past 4 or 5 players at a time. He has such quick feet and accelerates extremely quickly, he can go from a standing start to beating multiple opponents in mere seconds. I think Messi is going to go be alongside zidane and ronaldo (the brazilian one) as one of the all time greats of the modern game. He is going to win plenty more trophies and individual accolades over the next decade.

Posted 11:45 1st December 2009

Jordan Blumire (Arsenal fan) says...

This is a joke, there is no way edwin van de sar should even be in the top 5 keepers in europe. the only reason he went 11 games with out conceding this year was because of the 2 defenders in front of him. If he is so good why is he retiring this year. how on earth is ryan giggs 14th, fair enough he should of been there in the past but not now.

Posted 11:36 1st December 2009

Scott Parsons says...

It was both obvious and fully deserved, Messi is the best all round player in Europe. He may not be as technically gifted as Ronaldo (even Giggs beats him in that department) but the other sides to his game make him the man to beat at the moment. He reads the game better than anyone else, doesn't stop running to open up space for his team mates, has a few tricks in his locker to leave defenders standing and, contrary to what Nick Hadges thinks, he can header a ball... that goal in the Champions League final was by no means a fluke or one-off!

Posted 11:35 1st December 2009

Nick Hadges (Chelsea fan) says...

Deserved it but he is not the best by a mile. Ronaldo is the best all round player I have ever seen. He has the strength, pace, awareness and dribbling skills that no one else has Messi can dribble and pass but he cannot header and shrug off the pacey defenders like Maicon, Alves, Cole, Evra, Bosingwa, Clichy like Ronaldo can.

Posted 10:59 1st December 2009

Henry Williams (Arsenal fan) says...

This is a prestigious achievement for the little Argentinean and I know for a fact for about the next two, three seasons he will be the winner again on a consecutive level, first ever young player to win it. Look out for it in the next 2, 3 years he will be the winner again and not that untalented Ronaldo. Well done Lionel Messi

Posted 10:51 1st December 2009

Ryan Murphy (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

Fair play the top 4 are spot on, fancy Iniesta was better than Xavi though. But I can't understand how Ibrahimovic and Kaka are higher ranked than Rooney, Drogba or Torres? Is this more Uefa bias against the Premier league? Man Utd and Chelsea progressed further in the Champions league and Kaka didn't even play there last season? Zlatan was the only thing to shine in Italy, and will do at Barca but still nothing on Rooney or Drogba last season!

Posted 10:35 1st December 2009

Michael Stubley (Arsenal fan) says...

Well done to him but I don't believe he should have won. There were many better players and more talked about that I feel could have one. I'm an Arsenal fan and there's only one Arsenal player that has done it for me and that is Vermaelen but the best this year for me has got to be Drogba. He's not the best player in the world but he's there when you need him.

Posted 10:20 1st December 2009

Robert Scully (Manchester City fan) says...

Awesome! This guy is the best player in the world at the moment. I think he will go on to become one of the greatest players of all time. I'll never forget the first time I saw him play only 5 years ago and I thought he was sensational. I think he's better than Maradonna. Whether he's better than Pele or Best will be seen over the coming years.

Posted 09:59 1st December 2009

Shaun O'donnell (Liverpool fan) says...

Brilliant, absolutely fantastic achievement for the young man. And to win by such a margin too, basically tells you he is twice the player ronaldo is!

Posted 08:35 1st December 2009

Ian Poland man utd fan says...

congrats messi u deserved it.. well done.. the best player by far on this planet at the moment

Posted 08:34 1st December 2009

Tabz Zaman (Barcelona fan) says...

The most outstanding player wins hands down!!!

Posted 07:44 1st December 2009
  • Page 1 of 1
  • 1

Add Comment*

Send us your views

Are you a Sky Sports subscriber?

*All fields required, your email address will be kept private