LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo has been named World Soccer magazine’s player of the year for the second time, ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich, it said on Thursday.

The award, decided by a panel of journalists and pundits from round the world, recognized his stunning form for Real Madrid as well as his role in leading Portugal to the World Cup finals in Brazil next year. He last won it in 2008.

Jupp Heynckes and Bayern Munich, who completed the treble of German League, German Cup and Champions League last season, won the manager and team of the year prizes.

Going nowhere

Lionel Messi will be going nowhere as long as Sandro Rosell is in charge at Barcelona, the Catalans’ president said Thursday.

“As long as I’m president of Barca, everything will be done that is possible and even impossible so that Messi stays at the club,” said Rosell at an event to present a partnership with American electronics giant Intel.

“It is extremely difficult, not to say impossible, that Messi will leave the club.” Four-time Ballon D’Or winner Messi is currently injured and out of action until January.

He is under contract until 2018, which will take him almost up to his 31st birthday.

But speculation about Messi’s future was sparked on Tuesday by Barca’s economic vice-president Javier Faus’s assertion that they did not need to renegotiate his contract.

“Why? His contract was only renegotiated six months ago,” said Faus in an interview with Rac1 radio station.

According to media claims in Spain, Messi has a 250 million euro ($344m) buy-out clause, although teams that could afford that are few and far between.

The rumors about a possible renegotiation seem to stem from a question of salaries.

Cristiano Ronaldo signed a new contract at Real Madrid in September allegedly making him the highest paid player in Spain, according to Sports newspaper Marca, on 17 million euros a season, with Messi supposedly being paid only 16 million euros, according to Forbes magazine.