Messi wins Ballon d'Or

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has been named the European Footballer of the Year.

The Argentinean won the prestigious Ballon d'Or by a record margin from last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi, 22, becomes the sixth Barcelona player to take the award but the first for four years - since Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho.

The Argentinian won an unprecedented treble last season as the Catalan side won the UEFA Champions League, the Liga title and the Copa del Rey.

Messi was the top scorer in last year's Champions League with nine goals, including a header in the 2-0 final defeat of Manchester United in Rome.

The talented playmaker knew he was a serious contender to win the coveted prize, but did not expect to pip his rivals by such a wide margin.

Favourites
"Honestly, I knew that I was among the favourites because Barcelona had a fruitful year in 2009," he told French Football magazine.

"But I didn't expect to win with such a margin. The Golden Ball is very important to me.

"All the players who won it were great players, and some great players never won it."

Barca teammates were also hailed with midfielder Xavi taking third place with 170 points while Iniesta was fourth on 149.

In fifth place was Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, who left Barca to join Inter Milan. He was Barca's other scorer in the 2-0 final win over United.

The highest ranked Premier League star was Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, who finished in eighth place. He was closely followed by Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard.

Golden Ball results:

1. Lionel Messi (Barca), 473 points.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real), 233.
3. Xavi (Barcelona), 170.
4. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), 149.
5. Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan), 75.
6. Kaka (Real Madrid), 58.
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barca), 50.
8. Wayne Rooney (Man United), 35.
9. Didier Drogba (Chelsea), 33.
10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), 32.
11. Fernando Torres (Liverpool), 22.
12. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), 13.
13. Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg), 12.
14. Ryan Giggs (Man United), 11.
15. Thierry Henry (Barcelona), 9.
16. Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) 8.
(tie) Nemanja Vidic (Man United), 8.
(tie) Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), 8.
19. Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid), 7.
20. Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), 6.
21. Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal), 5.
(tie) Julio Cesar (Inter), 5.
(tie) Frank Lampard (Chelsea), 5.
24. Maicon (Inter), 4.
25. Diego (Juventus), 3.
26. David Villa (Valencia)
(tie) John Terry (Chelsea), 2.
28. Franck Ribery (Bayern M), 1.
(tie) Yaya Toure (Barcelona), 1.
30. Karim Benzema (Real), 0.