Zurich, Jan 12: Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the ‘World Player of the Year’ Monday from his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo who had walked off with the award for the previous two years.
The Barcelona and Argentina forward took 41.33 per cent of the votes followed by the Portuguese and Real Madrid forward (27.76%), with Brazil and Barcelona forward Neymar a distant third (7.86 per cent).
“It is a very special moment for me to be back here on this stage, winning again another Ballon d’Or after being there in the audience watching Cristiano win,” said Messi as he accepted the award at the end of a drawn-out 90-minute ceremony. “It’s incredible, this is my fifth.”
Barcelona’s Luis Enrique was voted ‘Coach of the Year’ while United States World Cup winner Carli Lloyd, who scored a hat-trick in the final against Japan, was named ‘Women’s player of the Year’.
The award, shared exclusively between Messi and Real Madrid’s Ronaldo since Brazilian Kaka won in 2007, has been heavily promoted by FIFA and was broadcast to 190 countries with 1,100 guests including players and coaches attending the ceremony.
The breakdown presented by FIFA also revealed tactical voting among the 165 national team coaches, 162 national team captains and 171 media representatives who cast votes.
Messi, eligible to vote as Argentina captain, named Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Neymar and Andres Iniesta as his top three players. Portugal captain Ronaldo chose three Real Madrid teammates – Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale.
Despite a red carpet and plenty of glitz, the event had a low-key air of predictability about it and was held against the backdrop of FIFA going through the worst corruption crisis since it was founded in 1904.
Acting president Issa Hayatou played a low-key role, reading a brief speech before the start and appearing on stage when the awards for best men’s player and women’s player were presented.
Ronaldo said the players did not want to discuss FIFA’s problems. “We avoid answering this kind of question,” he told a press conference before the ceremony. “We are professional football players, we compete every week, every day, we train and we just focus on that. These things happen not just in football but in life, and the best thing would be no corruption anywhere.”
In terms of individual achievement, Ronaldo had slightly the better in the last year, scoring 54 goals in 52 games for Real Madrid, compared to Messi’s 48 in 53. Reuters
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