Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 29/11 Real Madrid(H) won 1-0 - Match rating 7.5 - Evidently pinpointed by Madrid as he was hassled and clipped but still managed to twist and turn and produce some great moments of skill.

Alexandre Pato (AC Milan) - 29/11 Catania(A) won 2-0 - Match rating 6 - Fairly rank.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona) - 29/11 Real Madrid(H) won 1-0 - Match rating 8 - What more could be asked of a substitute than to go into such a high pressure game and score a stunning winner.

Andres Iniesta (Barcelona) - 29/11 Real Madrid(H) won 1-0 - Match rating 6.5 - Looked to create and open up the visitors' defence but often found that he had to go backwards with so little space.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - 29/11 Barcelona(A) lost 1-0 - Match rating 6.5 - Showed some great touches and had two glorious chances to score only to see one saved and the second fly over the bar.

Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) - 28/11 Portsmouth(A) won 4-1 - Match rating 10 - Give him a job and he'll do it. The hat trick hero carried out the lone striker role to perfection. Finished all his chances superbly and didn't give the Pompey centre-backs a moment's rest.

Paddy McCourt (Celtic) - 28/11 St Mirren(h) won 3-0 - Rested.

Fernando Torres (Liverpool) - 29/11 Everton(A) won 2-0 - Injured.

Player of the Week - Wayne Rooney

Lionel Messi Wins Ballon d'Or 2009

The Barcelona star is European Footballer of the Year...

This award is based of performances during the 2008-2009 season.

Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Argentina has won the Ballon d'Or 2009 award, making him the first player from his country to be crowned European Footballer of the Year.

The 22-year-old has now occupied all of the top three places, having debuted in third in 2007 before rising to second last year.

Furthermore, Messi has won by the greatest margin ever recorded in the history of this venerable competition. Out of a possible 480 points, Lionel scored 473 - a new record, and far ahead of the man in second place, namely last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese managed 233 points.

In winning the prize, awarded by France Football following voting by a panel of journalists from across the world, Messi becomes the youngest Ballon d'Or winner since Michael Owen's win as a 21-year-old in 2001.

In a year that Barcelona won an historic treble of the Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey, it seemed inconceivable that a player without the Blaugrana shirt would receive the award.

Barca midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi were also shortlised, but Messi was considered favourite by virtually every observer.

As such it was no surprise when he was confirmed as the winner late on Monday evening.

From an initial shortlist of thirty, ten players were announced last week as the finalists, with Messi's name looming large among those of the likes of Dider Drogba and Wayne Rooney.

However, it was the former Newell's Old Boys youth who prevailed in the end.

Although the final result was not to be announced until 02:00 CET on Tuesday December 1st, reports of Messi's victory emerged in the French online press over an hour before the appointed time.

Furthermore, minutes after 01:00 CET, a message from the France Football profile on social networking website Facebook appeared announcing Messi as the winner, only to disappear seconds later.

Messi, who will be presented with his award on Sunday evening at a gala event in Paris, becomes the first registered Argentine to win the Ballon d'Or since its creation. Buenos Aires-born Juventus legend Omar Sivori triumphed in 1961, but at the time he was a registered Italian.

Non-profiled potential - Francesco Totti

2009/10 has so far been a great season for Roma legend Francesco Totti which has seen him roll back the years and sit top of the scorers charts in Serie A. So far this season he has scored 19 goals in 13 games in all competitions which has led many people to beleive he is a potential shock candidate for this year's Ballon D'Or and also that he may come out of International retirement and go to South Africa with the Italian squad for the 2010 World Cup.

Francesco Totti (born 27 September 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who is the current captain of Serie A club Roma. His position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as a second striker. He has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most capped player in the club's history. He is considered to be Roma's greatest player of all time.

Totti was born and raised in Rome's Porta Metronia neighborhood. He idolized ex-Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini, and regularly played football with older boys. His mother refused a lucrative offer from A.C. Milan to remain in his hometown, and he joined the Roma youth squad in 1989.

Totti won several awards in Italy during his career including a record 5 times Italian Footballer of the Year and 2 times Serie A Footballer of the Year. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Totti is currently the top active Serie A goalscorer, and eighth all-time in league history with 187 goals.

Totti intended to retire from the Azzurri after the end of the World Cup 06, but reneged on his decision and remained undecided on his future for over a year, and was never called up in the meantime. He made his retirement official on 20 July 2007, at the beginning of the 2007–08 Serie A season in order to focus solely on club play with Roma. Italy coach at that time Roberto Donadoni's attempts to get Totti to change his mind for the remaining Euro 2008 qualifiers proved futile. After the national team reunioned with Lippi, Totti has been rumoured to return to Italy in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa.

Weekly Preview 27/11 - 03/12

Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 29/11 Real Madrid(H)

Alexandre Pato (AC Milan) - 29/11 Catania(A)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona) - 29/11 Real Madrid(H)

Andres Iniesta (Barcelona) - 29/11 Real Madrid(H)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - 29/11 Barcelona(A)

Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) - 28/11 Portsmouth(A)

Paddy McCourt (Celtic) - 28/11 St Mirren(H)

Fernando Torres (Liverpool) - 29/11 Everton(A)

Weekly Review 20/11 - 26/11

Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 21/11 Athletic Bilbao(A) drew 1-1 - Match rating 6.5 - Looked out of place as a centre forward and should have scored in the 16th minute. Set up a number of opportunities for his team-mates but they were unable to capitalise.

Alexandre Pato (AC Milan) - 22/11 Cagliari(H) won 4-3 - Match rating 8 - Electric performance from the young sensation. Scored Milan's third goal with a rocket, and was involved in two of the others.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona) - 21/11 Athletic Bilbao(A) drew 1-1 - Injured

Andres Iniesta (Barcelona) - 21/11 Athletic Bilbao(A) drew 1-1 - Match rating 5.5 - Had a very poor game on the left hand side. Clearly still needs to get match-fit and is not as sharp as last season.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - 21/11 Racing Santander(H) won 1-0 - Injured.

Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) - 21/11 Everton(H) lost 2-0 - Match rating 7 - Tried his heart out against his former club and on another night could have helped himself to a few goals. Taken off with 20 minutes to go.

Paddy McCourt (Celtic) - 22/11 Dundee Utd(A) lost 2-1 - Stayed on bench.

Fernando Torres (Liverpool) - 21/11 Man City(H) drew 2-2 - Injured.

Player of the Week - Alexandre Pato