Bundesliga footballers vote Lionel Messi as world's best

Lionel Messi won 47.7% of the votes

Berlin, May 23 (IANS) Bundesliga footballers have chosen Spanish champions FC Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi as the world's best player, according to a traditional survey run by Kicker magazine at the end of every season.

Messi gathered 47.7 percent of the total votes, compared to Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo who gained 29.8 percent and came in second place, reports Efe.

Messi's Brazilian team-mate Neymar came in third place with 4.3 percent, followed by Uruguayan Luis Suarez who racked up 3.8 percent.

Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic received 3.4 percent, German Thomas Muller got 2.6 percent and finally Poland's Robert Lewandowski obtained 2.1 percent.

Muller was voted as the German player who has a chance to win the world footballer of the year award in the coming years after he gained 26.8 percent, while 12.8 percent think that no German is qualified for the prestigious award.

Only 8.5 percent voted for Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, while 8.1 percent voted for his team-mate Jerome Boateng.

--IANS

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