BARCELONA, Spain, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Arguably the best soccer player in the world was handed some appropriate hardware Thursday.
Argentina's Lionel Messi was named the UEFA Best Player in Europe for the 2014-2015 season. Messi led Barcelona with 58 goals en route to La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles. Messi edged Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 61 goals, for the award. Germany's Celia Sasic won the women's award.
"We're a unified squad who worked very hard to achieve the goals we did," Messi told UEFA. "I'm very happy and I would like to thank my team-mates – without them I wouldn't have received this."
Messi received the award following the Champions League group stage draw. Barcelona is joined in Group E by Roma, Bayer Leverkusen and BATE Borisov.
Leo Messi: "I am here thanks to my team mates" pic.twitter.com/737Vij7vv6
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 27, 2015"I am happy to win the award," Messi told SuperSport. "I thank all my teammates because they deserve part of it. I depend a lot on the team like everyone else."
Messi is a four-time FIFA world player of the year. Ronaldo won the award last year. Messi added 27 assists to his 58 scores in 57 games. Messi won the award with 54 votes, compared to three for Luis Suarez and two for Ronaldo. Messi also won the award for the 2010-2011 season.
