Luis Figo of Real Madrid was crowned FIFA's World Player of the Year on Monday when he narrowly out-scored Manchester United's David Beckham in a poll of national team coaches "It is a privilege for me to stand here and accept this trophy," said Figo, the 29-year-old Portuguese international forward.
"But this is an award not just to me, but to my team, my team mates at my club and with my country. I think it is a great reward for all the players around me in all the world.
"I am proud to be here with these great players and I thank my team mates, my family, my friends and my wife." Figo, runner-up last year behind Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, scored a total of 250 points to beat United midfielder Beckham, on 238, into second place.
But the England captain, who was runner-up in 1999, gathered more votes for first place than any of his rivals -- 30 against Figo's 27.
Figo won, however, because he had 35 coaches' votes for second place compared to 23 for Beckham.
Another Real Madrid player, Raul, the Spanish international striker, was third.
Figo was presented with his award by the FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the former Liberian international striker George Weah, who won the award in 1995.
Bureau Report