WORLD SPORTS ZONE

Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or as European best footballer of the year on Monday (Nov. 30), becoming the first argentine in receiving the prestigious accolade. He was voted by 96 voters that gave him 473 points out of a possible 480. “Honestly, I knew that I was among the favorites because Barcelona had a fruitful year in 2009,” Messi told the press. “But I didn’t expect to win with such a margin. The Ballon d’Or is very important to me. All the players who won it were great players, and some great players never won it,” he added. Messi is also shortlisted in FIFA’s world player of the year list, to be disclosed on Dec. 21.