ZURICH, Switzerland (Ticker) - Ronaldinho, a talented playmaker who has transformed Barcelona into a power, was named the FIFA World Player of the Year on Monday.
Ronaldinho captured 89 first-place votes and 620 points overall. The Brazilian finished ahead of Frenchman Thierry Henry (552 points) and European Player of the Year Andriy Shevchenko (253).
Led by Ronaldinho, Barcelona has opened a comfortable nine-point lead in the Spanish Primera Liga.
Ronaldinho became the fourth Brazilian to win the award, joining Romario (1994), Ronaldo (1996, 1997 and 2002) and Rivaldo (1999). All four players won the award while playing with Barcelona at some point.
Edited on, December 21, 2004, 4:24 PM GMT, by rassel.