Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins Ballon d'Or award

Barcelona's Lionel Messi has won the acclaimed Ballon d'Or award after being named European Footballer of the Year.

French magazine France Football said the Argentina forward beat 2008 winner Cristiano Ronaldo into second place by a massive margin - 473 points to 233.

Messi, 22, won the treble of Champions League, the Spanish championship and Spanish cup with Barcelona last season.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard were eighth and 10th respectively.

Third and fourth place in the voting were Messi's Barcelona team-mates, midfielders Xavi (170 points) and Andres Iniesta (149).

Striker Samuel Eto'o, who left Barcelona for Inter Milan during the close-season, was fifth.

The highest-placed English player was Rooney, while Chelsea forward Didier Drogba came ninth.

France Football said Messi was only seven points short of the maximum available from the 96 jurors.

The magazine quoted Messi as saying: "Honestly, I knew that I was among the favourites because Barcelona had a fruitful year in 2009.

"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.

"I dedicate it to my family. They were always present when I needed them and sometimes felt even stronger emotions than me."

Messi becomes the sixth Barcelona player to take the award but the first since Brazil playmaker Ronaldinho in 2005. He is also the first Argentine winner, Alfredo Di Stefano being registered as Spanish when he won the award in 1957.

Messi recently signed a two-year contract extension with the European champions until 2016 - an improved deal which includes a buy-out clause set at 250m euros (£228m).

Messi top-scored in last season's Champions League with nine goals - one of them coming in his side's 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the final in Rome.

That United team contained Ronaldo, the 2008 Ballon d'Or winner, but the Portugal forward, who now plays for Real Madrid, was eclipsed by Messi on the night.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola, having completed an unprecedented treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles, said after the final: "I think he is the best player and we didn't need to win today to know he is the best."

Messi, who joined the Catalan giants from Newell's Old Boys at the age of 13 in 2000, usually plays on the right flank even though he is left-footed.

His scampering runs off the wing and surges across the area to shoot or play-in a team mate have become a trademark of Barcelona's eye-catching attacking style.

The arrival of right-back Daniel Alves from Seville in 2008 freed Messi from his wing duties, allowing him to move deeper into midfield, lose his markers, link up better with Barca playmakers Xavi and Iniesta, and burst through on goal from central positions.

He finished as the club's top scorer with 38 goals in all competitions last season.

Messi, whose style is usually likened to that of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, came through the Barca youth system and made his senior debut under Frank Rijkaard aged 16.

He is still only 22 but has amassed three La Liga titles, two European Cups and a Spanish cup. He helped Argentina win the Under-20 World Cup in 2005, finishing as top scorer, and won gold with his country at the 2008 Olympics.

Four years ago, Maradona, who has since become Argentina manager, said Messi would be the player to take over his mantle as national hero.

In addition to the Ballon d'Or, Messi is favourite to be crowned 2009 Fifa World Player of the Year on 21 December.
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Page last updated at 02:19 GMT, Tuesday, 1 December 2009
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Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins Ballon d'Or award
Lionel Messi
Messi top-scored for Barcelona last season with 38 goals

Barcelona's Lionel Messi has won the acclaimed Ballon d'Or award after being named European Footballer of the Year.

French magazine France Football said the Argentina forward beat 2008 winner Cristiano Ronaldo into second place by a massive margin - 473 points to 233.

Messi, 22, won the treble of Champions League, the Spanish championship and Spanish cup with Barcelona last season.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard were eighth and 10th respectively.

Third and fourth place in the voting were Messi's Barcelona team-mates, midfielders Xavi (170 points) and Andres Iniesta (149).

606: DEBATE
Do you agree with the decision? Where does Messi rank among the all-time greats?

David O, BBC Sport

Striker Samuel Eto'o, who left Barcelona for Inter Milan during the close-season, was fifth.

The highest-placed English player was Rooney, while Chelsea forward Didier Drogba came ninth.

France Football said Messi was only seven points short of the maximum available from the 96 jurors.

The magazine quoted Messi as saying: "Honestly, I knew that I was among the favourites because Barcelona had a fruitful year in 2009.

"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.

"I dedicate it to my family. They were always present when I needed them and sometimes felt even stronger emotions than me."
Lionel Messi
Argentina star Messi is in the running for Fifa World Player of the Year

Messi becomes the sixth Barcelona player to take the award but the first since Brazil playmaker Ronaldinho in 2005. He is also the first Argentine winner, Alfredo Di Stefano being registered as Spanish when he won the award in 1957.

Messi recently signed a two-year contract extension with the European champions until 2016 - an improved deal which includes a buy-out clause set at 250m euros (£228m).

Messi top-scored in last season's Champions League with nine goals - one of them coming in his side's 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the final in Rome.

That United team contained Ronaldo, the 2008 Ballon d'Or winner, but the Portugal forward, who now plays for Real Madrid, was eclipsed by Messi on the night.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola, having completed an unprecedented treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles, said after the final: "I think he is the best player and we didn't need to win today to know he is the best."

Messi, who joined the Catalan giants from Newell's Old Boys at the age of 13 in 2000, usually plays on the right flank even though he is left-footed.

His scampering runs off the wing and surges across the area to shoot or play-in a team mate have become a trademark of Barcelona's eye-catching attacking style.

MESSI FACTFILE
1987: Born in Rosario, Santa Fe on 24 June
2000: Joins Barcelona as a 13-year-old from Newell's Old Boys youth team
2003: Makes senior debut at 16 in a friendly against Porto
2005: Leads Argentina to World Youth Championship title, collecting best player and top scorer trophies
2005: Makes Argentina debut in friendly against Hungary in August. Sent off for elbowing.
2005: Becomes a Spanish citizen in September
2005: Makes competitive debut for Barcelona in October
2005-06: Scores six goals in 17 appearances as Barca win Spanish league
2008: Wins gold medal with Argentina at Olympics
2008: Finishes second in the Fifa World Player of the Year vote
2009: Scores second goal in Champions League final victory over Manchester United in May as Barca win their third European Cup
2009: Signs a two-year contract extension in September to keep him at Barca until 2016

The arrival of right-back Daniel Alves from Seville in 2008 freed Messi from his wing duties, allowing him to move deeper into midfield, lose his markers, link up better with Barca playmakers Xavi and Iniesta, and burst through on goal from central positions.

He finished as the club's top scorer with 38 goals in all competitions last season.

Messi, whose style is usually likened to that of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, came through the Barca youth system and made his senior debut under Frank Rijkaard aged 16.

He is still only 22 but has amassed three La Liga titles, two European Cups and a Spanish cup. He helped Argentina win the Under-20 World Cup in 2005, finishing as top scorer, and won gold with his country at the 2008 Olympics.

Four years ago, Maradona, who has since become Argentina manager, said Messi would be the player to take over his mantle as national hero.

In addition to the Ballon d'Or, Messi is favourite to be crowned 2009 Fifa World Player of the Year on 21 December.

Previous Ballon d'Or winners:
1956 - Stanley Matthews (England), 1957 - Alfredo di Stefano (Spain), 1958 - Raymond Kopa (France), 1959 - Di Stefano, 1960 - Luis Suarez (Spain), 1961 - Omar Sivori (Italy), 1962 - Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia), 1963 - Lev Yashin (USSR), 1964 - Denis Law (Scotland), 1965 - Eusebio (Portugal), 1966 - Bobby Charlton (England), 1967 - Florian Albert (Hungary), 1968 - George Best (Northern Ireland), 1969 - Gianni Rivera (Italy), 1970 - Gerd Mueller (West Germany), 1971 - Johan Cruyff (Netherlands), 1972 - Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany), 1973 - Cruyff, 1974 - Cruyff, 1975 - Oleg Blokhin (USSR), 1976 - Beckenbauer, 1977 - Allan Simonsen (Denmark), 1978 - Kevin Keegan (England), 1979 - Keegan, 1980 - Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany), 1981 - Rummenigge, 1982 - Paolo Rossi (Italy), 1983 - Michel Platini (France), 1984 - Platini, 1985 - Platini, 1986 - Igor Belanov (USSR), 1987 - Ruud Gullit (Netherlands), 1988 - Marco van Basten (Netherlands), 1989 - Van Basten, 1990 - Lothar Matthaeus (Germany), 1991 - Jean-Pierre Papin (France), 1992 - Van Basten, 1993 - Roberto Baggio (Italy), 1994 - Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria), 1995 - George Weah (Liberia), 1996 - Matthias, Sammer (Germany), 1997 - Ronaldo (Brazil), 1998 - Zinedine Zidane (France), 1999 - Rivaldo (Brazil), 2000 - Luis Figo (Portugal), 2001 - Michael Owen (England), 2002 - Ronaldo, 2003 - Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic), 2004 - Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine), 2005 - Ronaldinho (Brazil), 2006 - Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), 2007 - Kaka (Brazil), 2008 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal).