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Summary
Lionel Messi won his second straight FIFA player of the year award, with his mesmerizing play for Barcelona outweighing a disappointing World Cup.The Argentine forward beat out Barcelona teammates Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta for the renamed FIFA Golden Ball Award, which merged the FIFA player of the year with France Footballs Golden Ball. Messi became the first repeat winner since Ronaldinho in 2004 and 2005. Messi received 22.65 percent of the votes cast by national team coaches and captains plus selected reporters. Iniesta followed with 17.36 percent and Xavi received 16.48 per cent to finish third for the second straight year.
