(GSM) – Barcelona forward Lionel Messi beat last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo into second place in the poll for Europe’s footballer of the year, organized by France Football magazine.
Messi, 22, the first Argentine to win the prestigious trophy, becomes the sixth Barcelona player to take the award but the first for four years since Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho.
Hailed by Argentina great Diego Maradona as his successor, Messi won an unprecedented treble in Spain last season, as the Catalan side swept the Champions League, the Spanish title and the Copa Del Rey. Messi was the top scorer in last year’s Champions League with nine goals, including his superb header in the 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the final.
Messi, who tallied 473 of a possible 480 points, largely dominated the voting and won with a record-margin of 240 points. Real Madrid winger Ronaldo had 233 and Xavi had 170.
Messi told France Football: “Honestly, I knew that I was among the favorites because Barcelona had a fruitful year in 2009.”
“But I didn’t expect to win with such a margin. The Ballon d’Or is very important to me. All the players who won it were great players, and some great players never won it.”
“For me it’s a big honour to win. I dedicate it to my family, they were always present when I needed them and sometimes felt even stronger emotions than me,” he added.
Messi will lead Argentina to next year’s World Cup in South Africa. He has recently signed a new contract with Barcelona through 2016 and has a buyout clause of 250 million euros.
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