<
>

Lionel Messi wins AS' Player of the Year poll ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has beaten Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo to claim AS' La Liga Player of the Season award.

Messi came first in the poll after receiving 55.87 percent of the vote, with Ronaldo finishing in second with 35.37 percent.

The Argentina international helped Barca to lift the Primera Division title this season, while he also topped the league's assists charts with 18.

His impressive tally of 43 La Liga goals for the campaign, however, was not enough to beat Ronaldo, who found the back of the net 48 times. Ronaldo scored 61 goals in all competitions -- a personal record for goals in a season for the forward.

The Portugal international, who created 16 league goals this season, was joined in the top three by Madrid teammate James Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who received 5.89 percent of the vote, struck 13 times during his debut La Liga campaign, while also racking up 13 assists.

Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and Barca's Neymar finished fourth and fifth respectively, with the former claiming 1.7 percent of the vote and the latter 1.17 percent.