Cristiano Ronaldo, the 23-year-old Manchester United winger, on Monday was named FIFA's world player of the year for 2008.
He became the first Premier League player to be selected world player of the year and only the second Portuguese player after Luis Figo, who finished ahead of David Beckham in 2001.
Ronaldo was the odds-on favorite to win the award for 2008 after helping Manchester United win both the Premier League and European Champions League titles.
He finished with 935 votes from national team coaches and players worldwide, far ahead of Argentine runner-up Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, who helped Spain win Euro 2008, was third with 203 votes. Torres' Spanish teammate Xavi and last year's winner, Kaka, also were finalists.
"It is an overwhelming moment, a very special moment in my life," Ronaldo said after receiving the award from Pele at the FIFA Gala in Zurich. "I would like to say to my mother and sister that the fireworks can be fired off now."
Ronaldo was even able to exchange a few words of Portuguese with Brazilian striker Marta, who was selected FIFA women's world player of the year for the third time.
"It is a dream for me to get this prize because I want to bring the team and my country forward," Ronaldo said.
Not that he expected any other outcome. In October, he said as much while talking about rival candidates for year-end honors. "If you evaluate what each one did over the course of the season, I believe I did more than everyone else," he told the Times of London.
Indeed, the numbers that he put up in 2008 made it obvious that Ronaldo was going to win. He scored 42 goals in all competitions, making him Europe's top scorer.
Even an indifferent showing at Euro 2008, after which came ankle surgery and the long, drawn-out and ultimately futile courtship of Ronaldo by Real Madrid, could not detract from what was a tremendous year for the young Portuguese player.
Ronaldo might be the best soccer player on the planet at the moment in the opinion of his peers, but his lifestyle shows that he has a long way to go before he can be called mature.
Last Thursday, for instance, Ronaldo succeeded in demolishing the red Ferrari 599 GTB he had taken delivery of only two days earlier. He lost control of the $296,000 vehicle in a tunnel near Manchester's airport and was lucky to walk away from the wreck unscathed.
