Cristiano Ronaldo wins third Ballon d'Or; beats Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer
Cristiano Ronaldo repeated as the winner of the Ballon d'Or for the 2014 Player of the Year, beating out Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuerby a wide margin.
Wolfsburg midfielder Nadine Kessler was named the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year ahead of five-time winner Marta and American Abby Wambach, the 2012 winner.
Men's Ballon d'Or 1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal), 37.66% 2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina), 15.76% 3. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany), 15.72%
Ronaldo, who the award for the third time, broke the Champions League record with 17 goals in 2013-14 as Real Madrid won its 10th title. He has already scored 26 goals in 16 La Liga games this season for Real Madrid and five more goals in six Champions League group-stage games.
He was the runaway winner despite Portugal's failure to get out of the first round at the World Cup.
“I see my son, my family, my mother,” he said in accepting award at FIFA ceremonies in Zurich. “I would like to thank all those who voted for me, my coach, my fellow players, the president of Real Madrid. It’s been an unforgettable year. To win this trophy, a trophy of this kind, is something unique and all I can say is I want to continue working as I have, so far, trying to go onto more titles for my mother, for my father who is up there looking down at me, for my son."
The balloting was conducted by national team captains and coaches and members of the media with one vote in each category per country.
FIFA WOMEN'S PLAYER OF THE YEAR. Wolfsburg midfielder Nadine Kessler was named the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year ahead of five-time winner Marta and American Abby Wambach, the 2012 winner.
Kessler helped Wolfsburg repeat as UEFA Women's Champions League winner with a 4-3 victory over Tyreso, with which Marta played before it went bankrupt.
It was an emotional evening for Kessler and her head coach Ralf Kellermann, named women's soccer coach of the year, as the awards came only two days after Wolfsburg's Junior Malanda was killed in a car crash in Germany.
Women's Ballon d'Or 1. Nadine Kessler (Wolfsburg/Germany), 17.52% 2. Marta (FC Rosengard/Tyreso/Brazil), 14.16% 3. Abby Wambach (Western NY Flash/USA), 13.33%
Coach of the Year for Men's Soccer
Joachim Loew, Germany
Coach of the Year for Women's Soccer
Ralf Kellerman, Wolfsburg
FIFPro World XI
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany) Defenders: Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich/Germany) Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid/Spain) David Luiz (Chelsea/PSG/Brazil) Thiago Silva (PSG/Brazil) Midfielders: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona/Spain) Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Bayern Munich/Germany) Angel Di Maria (Manchester United/Real Madrid/Argentina) Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal) Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina) Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich/Netherlands)
Readers Comment
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millennium
9 years ago
A player who was so flat at the world cup, the highest pLatform in football, wins the best footballer of the year. Hmmmm. Cululu dey inside. Maybe he's rewarded for doing a good job fucking their holes.
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