Soccer:Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has won the prestigious Ballon D'Or award, French magazine France Footballsaid on its website this morning.The 22-year-old became the first Ballon D'Or winner from Argentina.
He eclipsed runner-up and last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo by a record 240-point margin.
The award's 96 jurors gave Messi 473 points out of a possible 480, a near unanimous verdict, the magazine said.
The win caps a brilliant year for the soft-spoken left-footer, who helped Barcelona to a Champions League title with nine goals, as well as bagging six in the Copa del Rey and 23 in the league.
Messi recently signed a two-year contract extension with the European champions until 2016 — an improved deal which includes a buy-out clause worth €250 million.
Messi told France Football:"There's lots of emotion — the Ballon d'Or is very important for me. I know I appeared among the favourites because Barcelona had a profitable year.
“For me it’s a big honour to win — but also to become the first Argentinian in history to receive the trophy.
“I dedicate it to my family, they were always present when I needed them and sometimes felt even stronger emotions than me.”
Final standings
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona) 473 points
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Man United & Real Madrid) 233
3. Xavi (Spain, Barcelona) 170
4. Andres Iniesta (Spain, Barcelona) 149
5. Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon, Barcelona & Inter Milan) 75
6. Kaka (Brazil, AC Milan & Real Madrid) 58
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, Inter Milan & Barcelona) 50
8. Wayne Rooney (England, Manchester United) 35
9. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Chelsea) 33
10. Steven Gerrard (England, Liverpool) 32
11. Fernando Torres (Spain, Liverpool) 22
12. Cesc Fabregas (Spain, Arsenal) 13
13. Edin Dzeko (Bosnia, VfL Wolfsburg) 12
14. Ryan Giggs (Wales, Manchester United) 11
15. Thierry Henry (France, Barcelona) 9
16= Luis Fabiano (Brazil, Sevilla) 8
16= Nemanja Vidic (Serbia, Manchester United) 8
16= Iker Casillas (Spain, Real Madrid) 8
19. Diego Forlan (Uruguay, Atletico Madrid) 7
20. Yoann Gourcuff (France, Girondins Bordeaux) 6
21= Andrei Arshavin (Russia, Arsenal) 5
21= Julio Cesar (Brazil, Inter Milan) 5
21= Frank Lampard (England, Chelsea) 5
24. Maicon (Brazil, Inter) 4
25. Diego (Brazil, Werder Bremen & Juventus) 3
26= David Villa (Spain, Valencia) 2
26= John Terry (England, Chelsea) 2
28= Franck Ribery (France, Bayern Munich) 1
28= Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast, Barcelona) 1
30. Karim Benzema (France, Olympique Lyon & Real Madrid) 0
