After receiving the Ballon d'Or 2009 in Paris this morning, Leo Messi spoke exclusively to Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat and admitted that he'd been looking forward to picking up the trophy since the award had been announced on Tuesday.
Messi told the club's official media outlets: “I was a bit impatient for this day to come so
that I could pick up the trophy – it's been quite a tough wait since I was told I'd
won”.
Special moment
A clearly thrilled Messi is certainly a skilled artist on the pitch, but found it hard to put
into words how he felt after receiving the award: “it's really nice – all of us have
enjoyed the ceremony” he added in reference to his sister and brothers who's accompanied him
to Paris.
Number two?
At just 22, Messi is one of the youngest ever winners of the trophy and it's that
which gives him the chance of repeating his success: “it would be incredible to win this
trophy again, but I have to take it easy and the most important thing is that he team continue to
work as we have been doing”.
Teammates due their recognition
One of the things Messi is most clear about is that he owes a lot to his teammates, without
whom the award would perhaps not have come his way and he insisted: “I want to share this
with them”.
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Laporta: "An important day"
Joan Laporta, who accompanied Messi at the ceremony, explained: “this is an important day, a
great day for Barca because we have a player who has won the Ballon d'Or and what's more he's come
up through La Masia”. The President had no doubt that: “Messi deserves this award for
his footballing and personal qualities”.