Argentina'sLionel Messi has won the Golden Ball awarded to the European Footballerof the Year, becoming the sixth Barcelona player to take the award andthe first since Brazilian Ronaldinho in 2005.

　　Messibeat last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo into second place while Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez finished third in the poll results released by France Football magazine early Tuesday。

　　Hailed by Argentina great Diego Maradona as his successor, Messi won an unprecedented treble in Spain last season with Barcelona as the Catalan side swept the Champions League, the Spanish title and the Copa del Rey。

　　The 22-year-old Messi, the first Argentine to win the prestigious trophy,was the top scorer in last year's Champions League with nine goals,including his superb header in the 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the final。

　　Messi, who tallied 473 of a possible 480 points, largely dominated the voting and won witha record-margin of 240 points. Real Madrid winger Ronaldo had 233 and Xavi had 170.

　　"Honestly,I knew that I was among the favorites because Barcelona had a fruit fulyear in 2009," Messi was quoted as saying by the magazine. "But I didn't expect to win with such a margin. The Golden Ball is very important to me. All the players who won it were great players, andsome great players never won it."

　　Barcelona had three players in the Top 5 with Andres Iniesta taking fourth ahead of former Barca player Samuel Eto'o。

　　In an outstanding season, Messi netted 38 goals in 51 games in all competitions, often leaving defenders in his wake with a combination of speed, exceptional dribbling abilities and his effective left-footed strike。

　　Messi,who led Argentina to next year's World Cup in South Africa, recently signed a new contract with Barcelona through 2016 and has a buyout clause of 250 million euros ($368 million) included。

　　Messihad a good start to this season - already scoring nine goals - and puton a great display to help his club defeat archrival Real Madrid 1-0last Sunday。

　　"It won't be easy to confirm after a year like the one we just went through," Messi said. "I hope the next one will reach the same standards. But to win the Golden Ball two years in a row is not an easything."

　　2009年“金球奖”日前揭晓，阿根廷足球明星里奥•梅西获此殊荣，当选“欧洲足球先生”，成为巴塞罗那俱乐部历史上第六位获此殊荣的球员，同时是该俱乐部继2005年巴西球员罗纳尔迪尼奥后首位获得该奖的球员。

　　“金球奖”评选结果由《法国足球》杂志于本周二早些时候公布。去年的“金球奖”得主克里斯蒂亚诺•罗纳尔今年屈居第二，巴塞罗那俱乐部中场球员哈维•赫尔南德斯位居第三。

　　被阿根廷球王迭戈•马拉多纳誉为自己接班人的梅西上一赛季战绩辉煌，这位边锋球员帮助俱乐部完成了欧冠联赛冠军、西甲联赛冠军和西班牙国王杯赛冠军的“三冠王”伟业。

　　现年22岁的梅西是首位获“金球奖”的阿根廷籍球员。他凭借九粒进球成为去年欧冠联赛的头号射手，这其中包括他在巴萨与曼联的对决中所进的一个精彩头球，在这场决赛中，巴萨以2比0赢得胜利。

　　在“金球奖”的评选中，梅西力压群雄，得到473分(满分480分)，比第二名高出破纪录的240分。皇家马德里队的边锋罗纳尔多得到233分，哈维得到170分。

　　《法国足球》杂志援引梅西的话说：“说实话，我心里有点底，因为我所在的巴塞罗那俱乐部在2009年收获颇丰，但是我没想到自己会以这么大的优势胜出。金球奖对我来说很重要。所有赢得金球奖的球员都很伟大，而还有一些伟大的球员没有获得过这个奖项。”

　　在金球奖评选的前五名中共有三位巴萨俱乐部球员，其中，安德雷斯•伊涅斯塔名列第四，前巴萨俱乐部球员萨缪埃尔•埃托奥位居其后。

　　在上一个战果辉煌的赛季中，梅西共效力51场比赛，贡献了38个进球，他常常凭借自己的速度、超强的控球技术和有力的左脚进攻让防守球员猝不及防。

　　最近，梅西与巴萨俱乐部续约至2016年，但违约金高达2.5亿欧元(合3.68亿美元)。梅西将带领阿根廷队参加明年在南非举行的世界杯足球赛。

　　梅西在本赛季开了一个好头，他已经打入9个进球，并于上周日凭借绝佳表现帮助他所在的俱乐部以1比0打败劲敌皇家马德里队。

　　梅西说：“保持2009年的巅峰状态很难。我希望下一赛季能够达到同样的标准。不过连续两年获得金球奖一定不是一件容易的事。”