There was no surprise as Lionel Messi reclaimed his title in Europe from Diego Milito as the continent’s best player. Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo followed behind.
Sports journalists from UEFA member associations casted votes to elect the 2011 UEFA Player of the Year. The shortlist contained the likes of eventual winner Lionel Messi, runner-up Xavi and third-placed Cristiano Ronaldo.
Argentine superstar Messi inspired Barcelona to clinch the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League trophy and finished as the competition’s top scorer with 12 goals. In total, La Pulga hit 53 goals for Barca last season as the Blaugrana retained their La Liga crown but ended behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid in the Spanish Copa del Rey.
Following his individual triumph, Lionel Messi talked to UEFA.com. The 24-year-old issued this statement:
“I'd like to thank all the people that voted for me, and all my team-mates. I keep all these awards at home and I still have some space for more.
“It's an honor to be so successful and to come up with the goods at the right time. Thanks to my team mates for helping me achieve this.
“This [motivation]comes from being at a club that's so successful and having a structure that allows us to be so successful. That’s what I was taught when I moved over and I've tried my best to keep it up.”
Lionel Messi got 38 votes while his Barcelona team mate Xavi Hernandez clinched 11 votes. Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo finished well behind with only 3 votes. The full top 10 list went as follows:
1) Lionel Messi from Barcelona and Argentina
2) Xavi Hernandez from Barcelona and Spain
3) Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid and Portugal
4) Andres Iniesta from Barcelona and Spain
5) Radamel Falcao from FC Porto and Colombia (now at Atletico)
6) Wayne Rooney from Manchester United and England
7) Nemanja Vidic from Manchester United and Serbia
8) Zlatan Ibrahimovic from AC Milan and Sweden
9) Gerard Pique from Barcelona and Spain
10) Manuel Neuer from Schalke and Germany (now at Bayern Munich)
Argentine superstar Messi inspired Barcelona to clinch the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League trophy and finished as the competition’s top scorer with 12 goals. In total, La Pulga hit 53 goals for Barca last season as the Blaugrana retained their La Liga crown but ended behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid in the Spanish Copa del Rey.
Following his individual triumph, Lionel Messi talked to UEFA.com. The 24-year-old issued this statement:
“I'd like to thank all the people that voted for me, and all my team-mates. I keep all these awards at home and I still have some space for more.
“It's an honor to be so successful and to come up with the goods at the right time. Thanks to my team mates for helping me achieve this.
“This [motivation]comes from being at a club that's so successful and having a structure that allows us to be so successful. That’s what I was taught when I moved over and I've tried my best to keep it up.”
Lionel Messi got 38 votes while his Barcelona team mate Xavi Hernandez clinched 11 votes. Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo finished well behind with only 3 votes. The full top 10 list went as follows:
1) Lionel Messi from Barcelona and Argentina
2) Xavi Hernandez from Barcelona and Spain
3) Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid and Portugal
4) Andres Iniesta from Barcelona and Spain
5) Radamel Falcao from FC Porto and Colombia (now at Atletico)
6) Wayne Rooney from Manchester United and England
7) Nemanja Vidic from Manchester United and Serbia
8) Zlatan Ibrahimovic from AC Milan and Sweden
9) Gerard Pique from Barcelona and Spain
10) Manuel Neuer from Schalke and Germany (now at Bayern Munich)
