Messi been done again with the golden Ball, the third one in his career. Messi, Cristiano and Xavi. The Brazilian Ronaldo was the one that delivered the award to Lionel Messi. “It’s a huge pleasure for me,” Messi said, after accepting the trophy from another three-time winner, retired Brazilian forward Ronaldo. “It’s the third time I get this award, and it’s a huge honor.” The only other three-time winners are Ronaldo (1996-97 and 2002) and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2000 and 2003). The FIFA award was renamed last year, when it merged with France Football’s Golden Ball. Messi scored 55 goals in 2011 for Barcelona, which won its third Champions League title in six seasons, and he had four goals for Argentina’s national team. Barcelona won five trophies last year. Messi received 47.88 percent of the points in votes cast by national team coaches and captains plus selected reporters. Cristiano Ronaldo finished second with 21.6 percent and Xavi got 9.23 percent to finish third for the third straight year. “This one is very special because I want to share this with my friend and teammate Xavi. He deserves it,” Messi said. A major international tournament victory is all that now eludes Messi. Guardiola and Ferguson agreed at an earlier news conference that Messi should be considered alongside Pele, Diego Maradona and Alfredo di Stefano. “Now he can sit beside them. It’s a huge award, no?” Guardiola said. Messi joined Michel Platini winning the Ballon d’Or for three consecutive years …
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Cristiano Ronaldo Vs Greece (FINAL).
Video Rating: 4 / 5