Lionel Andrés Messi, the Argentine striker of FC Barcelona, has been awarded the Ballon d’Or 2009. This has been reported by the magazine France Football on its website.
With 473 points Messi passes the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United and now Real Madrid), the winner of last year, who got 233 points.
Messi and Ronaldo are followed by three other players from Barça, the club that dominated Europe in 2008-2009: number 3 was Xavi (170 points), number 4 was Iniesta (149 points and the 5th one was Samuel Eto’o (75 points). Eto’o is now playing for Inter Milan.
Some facts about Lionel Messi:
- His nickname is La Pulga (The Flea). This is because of his length and speed.
- Messi was bought by FC Barcelona in april 2001 from Newell’s Old Boys.
- November 16, 2003 was his debut in the first team of FC Barcelona in a friendly match against FC Porto
- His first goal was on 2 May 2005 against Albacete
- He was Argentine footballer of the year in 2005 and 2007
- He was UEFA Champions League Top Scorer in the season 2008/2009
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Looks like he is going to repeat in 2010. If he wins the world cup, 2010 may be the best season in the history of football for one player.