Golden Ball (Ballon d'Or) Results

Full list of nominees:

Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Togo
Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Argentina
Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), Russia
Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Germany
Karim Benzema (Lyon), France
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Italy
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Spain
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Portugal
Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Ivory Coast
Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona), Cameroon
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Spain
Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Spain
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), England
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Sweden
Kaka (Milan AC), Brazil
Frank Lampard (Chelsea), England
Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Argentina
Pepe (Real Madrid), Portugal
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), France
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), England
Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Spain
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Spain
Luca Toni (Bayern Munich), Italy
Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Netherlands
Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid), Netherland
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Netherlands
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Serbia
David Villa (Valence CF), Spain
Xavi (FC Barcelone), Spain
Youri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow), Russia

I would prefer ANYONE but Crynaldo to win this.

Ronaldo will win it.....end of

Why the hell is Reina and Masch not on this list!

it's obvious Ronaldo will win it but if justice comes through then it will be going home with El Nino.

Where's Jerzy?

Rigged it is - I tell ya!

Diver will win it for sure but i'd like to see Fernando win it

Now why is Van Der Sar on there? So, so glad to see you don't actually have to perform to be on the list.

Now why is Van Der Sar on there? So, so glad to see you don't actually have to perform to be on the list.

Exactly what i said and lets be honest Van der Vaart who didnt do all that well in the german league gets in on a few good games in Euro 2008, Wesley Snijder played well all season (when he was fit) and even better in the Euros! shows that the people who draw up this list are clearly idiots. Clubs should nominate 3 players each to go for the award then managers vote for 5 players who are not their own to go into the main draw. Then when it goes to the top 10, let the other players vote because at the end of the day who knows more about how good someone is that the person they faced

Dickhead won it.

He shouldn't have - Torres done far more than him in the season, let me show you how:

• Torres arrived from Spain, and scored 33 goals in his FIRST SEASON in England, and broke the record set by van Nistelrooy of 23 League goals in a season.
• NONE of Torres' goals came from FK's or Penalties; 15 or so of Ronaldo's did.
• Torres was a breath of fresh-air in the Premiership, Ronaldo was the same old diving monkey he always was.
• Torres scored the winning goal in EURO 2008 for his country. Ronaldo cried for his country whilst there and carried on courting Real Madrid.

IMO Ronaldo shouldn't be allowed to play the game. Everybody is biased towards him, he cries like a kid in the rare event that something doesn't go his way, he dives, he cheats, he's full of himself, he's a pr**k.

I hope somebody starts a petition to ban him from football, I really, really do.

He's a c**t.

Had a small part in a film prior to joining Man Utd - in fact, probably sucked off Platini to get the Ballon d'Or judging by his part in it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU6xUyLKn7U

I'm not being biased but i truly believe Fernando Torres should have won, instead of sh*t face!! He had a lot more things to be proud of like Reslivo pointed out in his post!

Such a disgrace!! 

The 2008 European Player of the Year Results
 
                                                                                              Points
1. Cristiano Ronaldo ( Manchester United and Portugal)                    446
2. Lionel Messi ( Barcelona and Argentina )                                     281
3. Fernando Torres ( Liverpool and Spain )                                179
4. Iker Casillas ( Real Madrid and Spain )                                         133
5. Xavi Hernandez ( Barcelona and Spain )                                      97
6. Andrei Arshavin ( Zenit St Petersburg and Russia)                        64
7. David Villa ( Valencia and Spain )                                               55
8. Kaka ( AC Milan and Brazil )                                                       31
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic ( Inter Milan and Sweden )                             30
10. Steven Gerrard ( Liverpool and England )                            28
11. Marcos Senna ( Villareal and Spain)                                          16
12. Emmanuel Adebayor ( Arsenal and Togo)                                 12
13. Wayne Rooney ( Manchester United and England )                    11
14. Sergio Aguero ( Atletico Madrid and Argentina )                        10
15. Frank Lampard ( Chelsea and England)                                      8
16. Franck Ribery ( Bayern Munich and France)                                7
17. Samuel Eto'o ( Barcelona and Cameroon )                                 6
18. Gianluigi Buffon ( Juventus and Italy)                                        5
19. Michael Ballack ( Chelsea and Germany)                                   
      Cesc Fabregas ( Arsenal and Spain )                                         4
21. Didier Drogba ( Chelsea and Ivory Coast )                                 
     Sergios Ramos ( Real Madrid and Spain )                           
     Nemanja Vidic ( Manchester United and Serbia )                        3
24. Edwin van der Sar ( Manchester United and Netherlands )         
     Ruud Van Nistelrooy ( Real Madrid and Netherlands )                  2

A Liverpool player in top 3 and Stevie G is the highest ranked English player. I am surprised Pepe Reina isn't in there and also Wesley Sneijder.

I’m sorry but I have to agree that Christiano “its an Adams apple honest” Ronaldo is a worthy winner of the Balloon Door (or whatever its called) the prize isn’t a personality contest its based purely on football achievements and scoring 40 odd goals whether they are free kicks or pens Whilst also helping your team to a league and Euro (Thanks JT!) double does unfortunately class as ‘quite a good season’.

Look I’m with the majority when it comes to him as a person, he is arrogant beyond belief, whines constantly, spends more time in the air than the Red Arrows and worryingly constantly reminds me of a Brazilian pre-op transsexual (err I haven’t met one honest) but if you remember we where a fraction away from signing him first and for a much smaller fee than Slur Alex actually paid, and could anyone honestly hand on heart not admit he could have done a job for us? Granted he would be hard pushed to edge Benayoun or Pennant from the squad!! But a few games in our reserves and I am sure he would have come good in the end, Also I believe he wouldn’t have had half the arrogance or whiny nature he has if he’d joined us as lets face it if you want to develop those particularly nasty traits joining the Mancs is probably your ideal move.

No we should concentrate on what we have, a fantastic young man who is humble and even shy but stick him on the pitch and he’s deadly! His goal tally last year was amazing and the way he adapted to English football was second to none, his strength is also scary as when Chelsea came to town and JT tried to kick him in the air Nando was having none of it and faced him up straight away, meanwhile Ronaldo receives the same treatment does a triple pike with 6 degrees of difficulty and lands on Fergies lap in the dug out!

Ronaldo will be gone within a year or two whilst Nando gives the impression already he is here for life, one plays the game as it should be the other incorporates pantomime into his game (“I heard I beep I did!”) but it will be a sad day for me when Ronaldo leaves these shores as frankly he’s worth keeping for the comedy factor alone, from his rolling up and down the pitch to his little girl sobs when things don’t go right for him he is a riot and for me should get the award for this alone.

What the F**k has Lionel Messi done for club and F***ing country?

Torres scores 33 goals for club, scores the winning goal for Spain in the European Championships and ends up behind Messi?!  What-the-F**k.

F**k off FIFA, or whoever casts these decisions.  Probably Septic Bladder and that French tw*t Michael Platini!

Yeah but I'd say I have no problem with Messi getting 2nd. He constantly banters his opponents whenever he plays.

I can't believe this hand-balling cheating get won to be honest.

Especially after his cynical cheating in the Liverpool West Ham game.

I can't believe this hand-balling cheating get won to be honest.

Especially after his cynical cheating in the Liverpool West Ham game.

Messi has done nothing, correct.

Glenbuck I understand that Ronaldo scored 42 legit goals and "helped" ManUre to the title(s) (), but the fact is that the European Championship is, arguably, greater than the EPL and the UCL put together. Torres scored the winning goal there, securing his country a first international title since 1964(?). Plus, if Torres had scored 42 goals, 15 of which were from dead-ball situations you can bet your life that he wouldn't have won that Ballon d'Or. All this proves is that the world loves Man United, and it's just simple United bias. That's all it ever will be my friend.

All this proves is that the world loves Man United, and it's just simple United bias. That's all it ever will be my friend.

 

No not this time mate, if they are always biased to Manc players how come its took forty years for one of them to win it again? Law 1964, Charlton 1966 and Best in 1968 are their winners and whilst I dislike their club as much as any other Red I dont have a blind bigotry to a players footballing ability (not that you do of course :), dont you think you just hate this decision because frankly putting football aside he is a Manc Tit? (a good enough reason in my opinion )

I think he won the award because the panel is made up from foreign journalists who only mainly see players on Champions league nights and so that would have helped swing it for him if you also add it together with his league goal tally, but if I'm honest I couldn't care if Dean Windass had won it as for me its the footballing equivalent of a Blue Peter Badge, its nice at the time to get one but in the end is it something people are going to remember?..... I wonder what Mr Owen at Newcastle thinks.

Also when Nando is holding the Euro Cup or league or both at the end of the season Ladyboy will have to make do with his Balloon