Ballon d'Or

Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi was recieved the Ballon d'Or at an awards ceremony in Paris this sunday. The 22-year-old finished recieved almost double votes as compared to the runner-up C.Ronaldo.

Messi becomes the first Argentinian to win the Ballon d'Or, also called the European Footballer of the Year award. The accolade caps a brilliant year for the modest left-footer, who helped treble-winning Barcelona lift the Champions League title with nine goals. He also netted 23 in the league and six in the Copa del Rey. The France Football magazine award's 96 jurors gave Messi 473 points out of a possible 480, a near unanimous verdict.
Lionel Messi of Brcelona and Argentina striker, says, "I want to dedicate this trophy to my teammates, and share it with them. I'm very happy to be the first Argentine to get this honor, and the first Barca player to get it. I want to thank my family and my friends. My brothers are here today, and I want to share my trophy with them because they're always with me, they're always by my side, and that's why I want to share my happiness with them."

Voting details of the ballon d'Or award

Ballon d'Or: How the voting went
1. L Messi (Barcelona/Argentina) 473pts
2. C Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Manchester United/Portugal) 233pts
3. X Hernandez (Barça/Spain) 170pts
4. A Iniesta (Barça/Spain) 149pts
5. S Eto'o (Barça, Internazionale/Cameroon) 75pts
6. Kaka (Milan, Real Madrid/Brazil) 58pts
7. Z Ibrahimovic (Internazionale, Barça/Sweden) 58pts
8. W Rooney (Man Utd/England) 35pts
9. D Drogba (Chelsea/Ivory Coast) 33pts
10. S Gerrard (Liverpool/England) 32pts
Other British/British-based players:
11. F Torres (Liverpool/Spain) 22pts

12. C Fabregas (Arsenal/Spain) 13pts

13. R Giggs (Manchester United/Wales) 11pts

14. N Vidic (Manchester United/Serbia) 8pts

15. A Arshavin (Arsenal/Russia) 5pts

16. F Lampard (Chelsea/England) 5pt

17. J Terry (Chelsea/England) 2pts.