After another brilliant campaign, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has received his second Golden Shoe award as Europe’s top league goalscorer. The Argentine superstar was also named to the shortlist for the FIFA world player of the year award.
Messi is in the running for a fourth consecutive FIFA world player of the year award after being selected among the 23 candidates for the 2012 prize. Barcelona team-mates Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Xavi Hernandez are also on the shortlist. Arch-rivals Real Madrid lead the way with six nominees, including last year’s runner-up Ronaldo.
Earlier on Monday, Messi was presented with his second Golden Shoe award in Barcelona in recognition for scoring the most goals in Europe’s domestic leagues last season. The 25-year-old scored a La Liga record 50 goals for Barca, edging out Ronaldo by four goals.
Messi has shattered a number of records over the past year. He scored an unprecedented 73 goals for Barca in all competitions last season, breaking the previous European club record of 67 goals and the world mark of 70. In March, Messi passed Cesar Rodriguez’s 57-year-old milestone of 232 goals to become Barcelona all-time leading scorer.
The always classy Messi dedicated the award to his team-mates.
He said, "This is obviously a collective award. Every time I win an individual award I say the same thing because it is the reality. And this award more than anyone. It is an award for scoring goals and without my team mates I wouldn’t have scored any goal."