Barcelona

Laporta: Messi Will Win FIFA Gong Next Year

Barça's president is utterly convinced that 'Little Leo' will become the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year.

14 Jan 2009 06:45:28

Lionel Messi is tuned in at the FIFA World Player Of The Year awards ceremony.

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Lionel Messi is tuned in at the FIFA World Player Of The Year awards ceremony.

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As expected, Barcelona’s wunderkind, Lionel Messi, only came in second behind Cristiano Ronaldo in Monday evening’s FIFA World Player of the Year awards ceremony, despite a barnstorming finish to 2008.

The club’s president, Joan Laporta, admitted that Ronaldo rightfully deserved to win the gong but he is certain that El Mesías [The Messiah] will be crowned the best player in the world this time next year, although it is only two weeks into 2009.

“All the five finalists chosen by FIFA are winners. I would have liked for either Messi or Xavi to have won, but football is a team sport and it is necessary for the best player in the world to win titles with his club and in this sense, it is right that Ronaldo was elected FIFA World Player,” Laporta stated.

“But next year, Messi will duly be recognised as the best player as he is already one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game.”

But there was still cause for Laporta to be proud despite the nippy Argentine only picking up the runner-up accolade.

“Barça have two players [Messi and Xavi] amongst the best five in the world and four players in the top ten [Samuel Eto’o finished seventh and Andrés Iniesta ninth]. This is great news for the club and it fills us with great satisfaction,” he concluded.

KS Leong, Goal.com