Messi - officially good at footer

In the least shocking turn of events since Eddie Izzard turned up in a dress and declared “I’m actually a man!”, to a rousing response of “yes, we can tell!”, Lionel Messi ran away with the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

It was never really in doubt, and you can enjoy some footage of his dazzling feet after the jump.

There was a feather in the cap for the Premier League, however, as the greatest compiled team on the planet this year featured five stars from these shores. Here’s how it lined up:

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), John Terry (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Man United), Patrice Evra (Man United), Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Because the PFA vote neglected the last three months of action

Last night, the PFA names their team of the season, but did you know that members voted for it all the way back in January? In his BBC Sport Column, Micah Richards admits that votes were cast way back when Arsenal were on for the title and Newcastle were going down, meaning the past few months of play have not been taken into account. With that in mind, here’s our team of the season from February onwards:

Chris Kirkland
Contributed to Arsenal’s downfall with a stunning clean sheet at the JJB before stealing the spotlight again at Stamford Bridge to help Wigan to a 1-1 draw, which could prove crucial come the end of the season. Remarkably, Wigan have kept more clean sheets than any other Premier League team from February onwards.

Patrice Evra
Gael Clichy’s season went down the drain with Arsenal’s while Evra has been solid all season long at the back for Manchester United.

Nemanja Vidic
Keeps his place and, if anything, his importance to Manchester United has been magnified by their vulnerability when he has been missing.

Phil Jagielka
Dropping Ferdinand may seem harsh but a defence made up of Manchester United and Arsenal players can’t be justified when Everton have let in fewer goals in 2008 than anyone else in the country. Joleon Lescott has taken the plaudits because of his goal contribution but while he has made a few mistakes, Jagielka has grown in stature as the season’s progressed and could be close to an England call-up.

Bacary Sagna
The only one of four Arsenal