Lionel Messi wins FIFA world player award

Zurich, Dec 22: Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been named Fifa World Footballer of the Year on Monday, Dec 21, at a FIFA gala ceremony in Zurich.

The 22-year-old, who helped Barca win the Club World Cup on Saturday, Dec 19, also won the Ballon d'Or award this year.

After receiving the award from Michel Platini, Uefa president and former France international, Messi said, "This finishes a magnificent year for Barcelona, my team-mates and for me."

"I'm extremely happy. We've just ended a historic year, a perfect year in which we've won every competition we've played in," he said.

He further said, "We just needed to take this last step and everything has worked out how we wanted. It's amazing."

Messi, who was runner-up the last two years, received 1,047 points in voting. Cristiano Ronaldo was second with 352 points, followed by Xavi with 196 points.

OneIndia News