Cristiano
Celebrations...Ronaldo
hasn’t stoppedscoringfor
RealMadridand Portugal
2013 WORLDPLAYEROFTHEYEAR Points
CristianoRonaldo(RealMadrid&Portugal) 1, 075
LionelMessi(Barcelona& Argentina) 926
FranckRibery(BayernMunich& France) 870
ZlatanIbrahimovic(ParisSaint-Germain& Sweden) 658
ArjenRobben(BayernMunich& Netherlands) 324
Neymar(Santos/Barcelona& Brazil) 286
PhilippLahm(Bayern Munich & Germany) 255
RobinvanPersie(Manchester United&Netherlands) 251
RobertLewandowski(BorussiaDortmund & Poland) 250
GarethBale(TottenhamHotspur/RealMadrid& Wales) 187Ronaldo
CristianoRonaldoisWorld Soccer’s WorldPlayer of theYearfor
thesecondtime.ThePortuguesestarfinishedaheadofBarcelona’s
LionelMessiandFranckRibery of Bayern Munichinourannualpoll.
Thewinnerin 2008 was runner-uptoMessiwhenthe Argentinian
wonhisthirdWorldPlayertitlelastyear. Butthe tableshavebeen
turnedand Ronaldowastheclearwinnerthistimearound.Theaward is
recognitionofRonaldo’s stunningformfor RealMadridoverthepast1 2
months,aswellashisstarringroleinPortugal’sWorldCup qualification.
InNovember, he scored allfourgoalsinhiscountry’splay-offvictory.
ParisSaint-Germain’s ZlatanIbrahimovic,whoseSwedensidewere
defeatedbyPortugalinthosegames,finishedfourthinthepoll.
ArjenRobben,scorerofthewinninggoalinBayernMunich’s
ChampionsLeaguefinalwinoverBorussiaDortmundatWembley
inMay,was fifth,andNeymar, thestarofBrazil’s successinlast
summer’sConfederations Cup,finishedsixth.
Bayernwerenamedthe WorldTeamofthe Year, whiletheircoach
JuppHeynckeseasilycame outontop in thepollfor WorldManager.