Lionel Messi crowns stunning year by winning FIFA world player of the year

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Argentina’s Lionel Messi collected his first FIFA World Player of the Year title while Brazil’s Marta became the first to obtain four FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year awards at the 19th FIFA World Player Gala at the Zurich Kongresshaus on Monday evening.

It was a night to remember, with on-stage appearances by former and current football stars, prominent celebrities and a musical show headlined by Italian pop star Laura Pausini.

Messi had an outstanding 2009, leading his club FC Barcelona to a historic season and collecting the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and Super Cup crowns and the Spanish Liga, Super Cup and Cup titles along the way.

The 1,073 points he obtained in the vote, participated in by the coaches and captains of 147 national teams, saw him win by a clear margin ahead of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in second (352 points) and Spain’s Xavi (196), Brazil’s Kaka (190) and Spain’s Andres Iniesta (134).

The 22-year-old forward, who also landed the European Footballer of the Year prize earlier this month, picked up the accolade after collecting four major titles with Barcelona - the Champions League, the Club World Cup, La Liga and the King's Cup.

"This finishes a magnificent year for Barcelona, my team mates and for me," said Messi after receiving the trophy from UEFA president and former France international Michel Platini.

The Argentine, who joined Barcelona as a 13-year-old in 2000, claimed 1,073 points in a poll of 147 national team coaches and captains.

Portugal and Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo, last year's winner, was a distant second with 352 points followed by Spain and Barcelona midfielder Xavi (196).

Messi was leading scorer in the 2008-09 Champions League, hitting nine goals including one in the 2-0 final win over Manchester United.

He also notched the extra-time winner in the 2-1 Club World Cup final victory over Estudiantes in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Messi's vote appeared to be entirely based on his club form as his performances for Argentina, under coach Diego Maradona, were largely disappointing.

Argentina struggled to qualify for the World Cup and their results this year included a 6-1 hammering in Bolivia and defeats by Paraguay and Ecuador.

Before the ceremony, Messi told reporters he could not explain why he failed to perform at the same level for his country.

"I don't know," he said. "I try to do the same as I do for Barcelona. But the World Cup qualifiers are complicated, sometimes it's difficult to play and it was a big effort for us to qualify.

"I believe the World Cup could be completely different for us ... it could be better for me and Argentina."

Marta thrilled fans in the revamped Women’s Professional Soccer League in the U.S., where she won the Golden Boot and was elected best player of the season with Los Angeles Sol, and also claimed the titles of the women’s Copa Libertadores and Copa de Brasil with Santos. Votes were cast by 130 coaches and captains for the women’s award and Marta won for the fourth consecutive time (833 points), ahead of Germany’s Birgit Prinz (290), England’s Kelly Smith (252), Brazil’s Cristiane (239) and Germany’s Inka Grings (216).

Two new awards were presented at the gala. The FIFA/FIFPro World XI to honour the best eleven players of the year, as chosen by over 50,000 professional players from all over the world, went to a real “dream team” featuring Iker Casillas (Spain) in goal; Daniel Alves (Brazil), Nemanja Vidic (Serbia), John Terry (England) and Patrice Evra (France) in defence; Steven Gerrard (England), Xavi (Spain) and Andres Iniesta (Spain) in midfield; and Lionel Messi (Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) and Fernando Torres (Spain) up front.

Also handed out for the first time was the FIFA Puskás Award for the ‘most beautiful goal’ of the year as voted for on FIFA.com by over 120,000 fans.

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