Post by Golden_Boy™ on Oct 27, 2008 13:41:04 GMT -1
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as the FIFPro World Player of the Year while English and Spanish football dominated the Team of the Season with only Kaká coming from Serie A.
The Portuguese forward was honoured for his incredible season that saw him lead Manchester United's push towards the title and the Champions League trophy against Chelsea in Moscow.
FIFPro, the world players' union, saw it's 57,500 members around the globe vote and Ronaldo came out on top and he was clearly delighted to win what could be the first of several individual honours.
“To be recognized by my fellow professional players worldwide coming from over 50,000 players is amazing," he told the FIFPro official website.
"I would like to thank my teammates and coaches and everyone involved at Manchester United and the national team, as well as my family and friends for their support.
"Thank you also to FIFPro for this award and for your work in protecting the interests and welfare of players around the world."
The team award saw Barcelona have three players included in the eleven with Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández and Lionel Messi, while Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United contributed two apiece.
FIFPro World XI:
Goalkeeper – Iker Casillas (Spain/ Real Madrid)
Defenders – Sergio Ramos (Spain/ Real Madrid), John Terry (England/ Chelsea), Carles Puyol (Spain/ Barcelona) and Rio Ferdinand (England/ Manchester United)
Midfielders - Steven Gerrard (England/ Liverpool), Xavi (Spain/ Barcelona) and Ricardo Kaká (Brazil/AC Milan).
Forwards – Lionel Messi (Argentina/ Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Spain/ Liverpool), and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/ Manchester United).
The Portuguese forward was honoured for his incredible season that saw him lead Manchester United's push towards the title and the Champions League trophy against Chelsea in Moscow.
FIFPro, the world players' union, saw it's 57,500 members around the globe vote and Ronaldo came out on top and he was clearly delighted to win what could be the first of several individual honours.
“To be recognized by my fellow professional players worldwide coming from over 50,000 players is amazing," he told the FIFPro official website.
"I would like to thank my teammates and coaches and everyone involved at Manchester United and the national team, as well as my family and friends for their support.
"Thank you also to FIFPro for this award and for your work in protecting the interests and welfare of players around the world."
The team award saw Barcelona have three players included in the eleven with Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández and Lionel Messi, while Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United contributed two apiece.
FIFPro World XI:
Goalkeeper – Iker Casillas (Spain/ Real Madrid)
Defenders – Sergio Ramos (Spain/ Real Madrid), John Terry (England/ Chelsea), Carles Puyol (Spain/ Barcelona) and Rio Ferdinand (England/ Manchester United)
Midfielders - Steven Gerrard (England/ Liverpool), Xavi (Spain/ Barcelona) and Ricardo Kaká (Brazil/AC Milan).
Forwards – Lionel Messi (Argentina/ Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Spain/ Liverpool), and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/ Manchester United).
