...Ronaldinho is the best
RONALDINHO, the Brazil and Barcelona playmaker, has won the Ballon d?Or, the prize for the European footballer of the year awarded by France Football magazine. Frank Lampard, the Chelsea midfield player, came second and Steven Gerrard, of Liverpool, third. Thierry Henry, the Arsenal forward, was a distant fourth, with Michael Essien, at 23^rd.

The result, announced at a gala dinner in Paris last night, attended by many former winners, was no surprise, with the 25-year-old Brazilian having been the strong favourite to win the most prestigious individual accolade in European football.

WHERE THE VOTES WENT

1, Ronaldinho (Br/Barcelona) 225pts; 2, F Lampard (Eng/Chelsea) 148; 3, S Gerrard (Eng/Liverpool) 142; 4, T Henry (Fr/Arsenal) 41; 5, A Shevchenko (Ukr/AC Milan) 33; 6, P Maldini (It/AC Milan) 23; 7, Adriano (Br/Inter Milan) 22; 8, Z Ibrahimovic (Swe/Juventus) 21; 9, Kaká (Br/AC Milan) 19; 10, S Eto’o (Cameroon/Barcelona); =, J Terry (Eng/Chelsea) 18; 12, Juninho (Br/Lyons) 15; 13, C Makelele (Fr/Chelsea) 8; 14, M Ballack (Ger/Bayern Munich), P Cech (Cz/Chelsea), D Drogba (Ivory Coast/Chelsea) and J R Riquelme (Arg/Villarreal) 7; 18, Z Zidane (Fr/Real Madrid) 5; 19, G Buffon (It/Juventus) 4; 20, J Carragher (Eng/Liverpool) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Por/Manchester United) 3; 22, M Essien (Ghana/Chelsea) 2; 23, L García (Sp/Liverpool) and P Nedved (Cz/Juventus) 1.

ROLL OF HONOUR

1956: Stanley Matthews (Eng)
1957: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Sp)
1958: Raymond Kopa (Fr)
1959: Alfredo Di Stefano (Sp)
1960: Luis Suarez (Sp)
1961: Omar Sivori (It)
1962: Josef Masopust (Cz)
1963: Lev Yashin (USSR)
1964: Denis Law (Scot)
1965: Eusébio (Por)
1966: Bobby Charlton (Eng)
1967: Florian Albert (Hun)
1968: George Best (N Ire)
1969: Gianni Rivera (It)
1970: Gerd Müller (Ger)
1971: Johan Cruyff (Neth)
1972: Franz Beckenbauer (Ger)
1973: Johan Cruyff (Neth)
1974: Johan Cruyff (Neth)
1975: Oleg Blokhin (USSR)
1976: Franz Beckenbauer (Ger)
1977: Alan Simonsen (Den)
1978: Kevin Keegan (Eng)
1979: Kevin Keegan (Eng)
1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Ger)
1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Ger)
1982: Paolo Rossi (It)
1983: Michel Platini (Fr)
1984: Michel Platini (Fr)
1985: Michel Platini (Fr)
1986: Igor Belanov (USSR)
1987: Ruud Gullit (Neth)
1988: Marco van Basten (Neth)
1989: Marco van Basten (Neth)
1990: Lothar Matthäus (Ger)
1991: Jean-Pierre Papin (Fr)
1992: Marco van Basten (Neth)
1993: Roberto Baggio (It)
1994: Hristo Stoichkov (Bul)
1995: George Weah (Liberia)
1996: Matthias Sammer (Ger)
1997: Ronaldo (Br)
1998: Zinedine Zidane (Fr)
1999: Rivaldo (Br)
2000: Luis Figo (Por)
2001: Michael Owen (Eng)
2002: Ronaldo (Br)
2003: Pavel Nedved (Cz)
2004: Andriy Shevchenko (Ukr)
2005: Ronaldinho (Br)