Zlatan's Sour Grapes At Manchester United's Ronaldo

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has made fun of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or victory. The award which is voted for by sports journalists around the globe, was given to Cristiano Ronaldo last month for his sparkling season at Manchester United.

United finished the season as Premier League winners and Champions of Europe and on the way to these victories Ronnie fired in an incredible 42 goals in 49 games.

However the Swedish international, currently playing for Inter Milan, believes the award means nothing.

He said: "Now the Ballon d'Or has become a publicity stunt. It all depends on what people see in order to judge. For me it is more important to win with the team rather than anything else."

Sour grapes indeed. Either that or he is trying his hand at some mind games ahead of the Champions League clash between the two clubs which is coming up shortly. I think it will have put paid to him actually winning it himself in the future after he made it sound like a 'Mickey Mouse' award. Nice one Zlatan, looks you just pissed on your own strawberries Mr....Back To Home Page...

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo Wins The Ballon D'Or

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo won the European Footballer of the Year Award in France on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old Portuguese star is the first from his country to win the coveted 'Ballon D'Or' award which is given by 'France Football' since Luis Figo in 2000.

CR7 has spoken often about his chances of winning this despite protestations from opposing fans. At one point he actually declared himself not only the best footballer in the world but second and third too.

He scored a remarkable 42 times in 49 matches as United secured a memorable league and European Cup double.

Lionel Messi finished in second place with Fernando Torres in third.

This award has been Presented since 1956 by the French football magazine France Football, it is awarded to the player considered to have performed best over the previous year;. The first to lift this honour was Blackpool player Stanley Matthews.

Prior to 2007, the player had to be a member of a club based within UEFA's jurisdiction in order to qualify for selection; and until 1995 a player also had to be of European nationality to be eligible. The 2007 change in rules saw players from Qatar, the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina named on the shortlist alongside those from European clubs.

Since October 2007, 96 football journalists from around the world have decided the winner from a shortlist of 50 compiled by France Football.

Add this title to the fact Manchester United are current Premier League Champions and Champions of Europe things look rosy right now. Ronaldo is also favourite for the World Player of the Year too.....and I don't think many will argue with that!

Can Manchester United also go on to win the World Club Cup in Tokyo too ? The mind boggles.....Back To Home Page...

Ballon D'Or Short List

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard are among 11 Premier League players shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or. The trio are the only British representatives for the award alongside the likes of Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo - the clear favourite - and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

France Football magazine have revealed the condensed list of 30 contenders for their European golden ball award, with Barcelona striker Thierry Henry and AC Milan's Ronaldinho, who received the accolade in 2005, absent after disapp-
ointing campaigns last season.

Portugal international winger Ronaldo is the clear favourite to win the award on December 2 with Barcelona's Lionel Messi and 2007 winner Kaka also in contention. Rooney won the Champions League with Manchester United in May while Lampard played in the final for Chelsea. Liverpool's Gerrard impressed as they reached the tournament's last four before losing to Chelsea in the semi-finals.

Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba (both Chelsea), Edwin van der Sar, Nemanja Vidic (both Manchester United) and Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal) are the other Premier League stars on the list, which has been cut down from 50. Spain are represented by seven players after winning Euro 2008 in the summer - Torres and Fabregas being joined by Marcos Senna, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, David Villa and Xavi.

Only three Serie A players have been nominated - Kaka, Inter Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon - with Spain's Primera Division matching the Premier League with 11 nominees. Previous Ballon d'Or winners Andriy Shevchenko and Fabio Cannavaro have missed out.

Shortlist: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg) Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Karim Benzema (Lyon), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Internazionale), Kaka, Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Pepe (Real Madrid), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich), Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Rafael van der Vaart (Hambourg/Real Madrid), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), David Villa (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona), Youri Zhirkov .....Back To Home Page