Cristiano
Honours...Ronaldowith theClub
WorldCupandESM GoldenShoe^2008 WORLDPLAYEROFTHEYEAR%ofvotes
CristianoRonaldo(Manchester United&Portugal) 48.4
LionelMessi(Barcelona&Argentina) 15. 1
FernandoTorres(Liverpool& Spain) 13. 6
IkerCasillas(RealMadrid&Spain) 5.7
Xavi(Barcelona& Spain) 5. 1
DavidVilla(Valencia& Spain) 2. 1
AndreyArshavin(Zenit& Russia) 1. 4
MarcosSenna(Villarreal& Spain) 0.7
FranckRibery(Bayern Munich& France) 0.6
ZlatanIbrahimovic(Internazionale & Sweden) 0.5
Others 6.8
Ronaldo
CristianoRonaldo, star performerinManchesterUnited’s Champions
Leaguetriumph,isWorldSoccer’s Playerof theYearfor 2 008.The
Portugalwingerwas theclearwinnerinour 2 7thannual poll,with
Barcelona’sLionelMessisecond andFernandoTorresofLiverpool
inthirdplace.
Ronaldoisthe first Unitedplayer to winthe individualprize,while
lastyear’swinner, Kaka,did notevenmakethetop ten.Instead,five
ofthe toptenplacesare takenbymembersofSpain’s victorious
teamatEuro 2 008 – Torres,captainIkerCasillas,DavidVilla,
XaviandMarcosSenna.
TheWorldSoccerWorldPlayer of theYearawardis just the
latest recognitionofRonaldo’sphenomenalsuccess andoutstanding
individualtalent.ThusfarRonaldohas wontheChampionsLeague(this
year),twoPremierLeaguetitles,theFACuponceandthe LeagueCup.
Hewas a WorldCup semi-finalistin 2006,a runner-upwithPortugalat
Euro 2004 and a quarter-finalistthisyearinAustriaand Switzerland.
AtindividuallevelhehasbeennamedFIFProPlayeroftheYear(by
theinternationalplayers’union),wonFranceFootball’s Ballond’Or,was
theUEFAClubFootballerofthe Yearandwas both topgoalscorerlast
seasonintheEnglishPremierLeagueandwinnerofthe European
GoldenShoe.Naturallyhe wasalsoEngland’s FootballeroftheYear.