Soldier what you're asking for is fantastic-unrreal, do you really think Villarreal signed Riquelme to win La Liga?? Becasue if you do, you really have no idea about some aspects of football. Clubs like Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Real Zaragoza, Real Betis, etc, etc.. do not compit to win La Liga, their priority is to end in the 'top four'. Riquelme exceded expectations, no one was expecting Riquelme to stear Villarreal to a 3rd place La Liga Finish, yet he did accomplished that, and up till date that remains the best finish ever in Villarreal's history. And to make his class unquestionable, Riquelme would later take Villarreal to the Semi-Finals of the Champions League. Riquelme has proved his class against clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, Inter, and many others.. Riquelme reached the Semi-Finals of the Champions League (Europe's best competition) with a below-average club such as Villarreal.

And in case you didn't knew, or didn't actually watched the World Cup - Riquelme certainly showed his class, the 6-0 thrashing of Serbia g Montenegro (the team with the best defense throughout the tournament qualifiers), the 2 masterfull assist against Ivory Coast, and all the other assists he made throughout the tournament!! It wasn't until Riquelme left the game that Germany equalised! that was no coincidence it has hapened before against England and many others.. when Argentina substitutes Riquelme, Argentina losses composure and possession.

And I don't know wich World Cup you watched Soldier, because in the 2006 World Cup - the complete Brazil team (Kaka included of course) didn't work hard enough. And overlooking the fact that Kaka didn't had a good work-rate, Kaka was a flop in Germany, can't you understand that Soldier?? Buy a dvd of the 2006 World Cup, or even better watch every complete game of Brazil and after you do that tell me if Kaka performed. Kaka was as dissapointing as a player can get, alongside Ronaldinho the most dissapointing player in the World Cup. On the other hand Riquelme worked his magic (most assists in the Tournament), Luis Figo was outstanding, and Zinedine Zidane solidified his legendary status.

And I must reiterate - Do you read Soldier!?? Haven't you noticed that the only players who win the FIFA World Player of the Year award in actuality are the players who take part in UEFA'S Champions League. Therefore, this implies that Pele would've never been seriously considered for the FIFA award, since Pele played his entire career in South America, and since the best competition in South America is the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores. In modern Football, Pele could win the Brazilian Championship and the Copa Libertadores - and he wouldn't even be considered a serious contender for the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Who cares if Pele played with heavier balls!?? He wasn't the only one!! and any other player would've gotten used to playing with a heavier ball, that's a lame excuse! the reality is that Pele would've never been seriously considered in modern football because he played in South American Football; Brazilian League, and Copa Libertadores, and Copa America. This is reality, get over it Soldier!

The Soldier:

and about the world cup did riquelme shine there.????

Riquelme led the World Cup assist table. So yeah, he did.

Here is my opinion: The top three players for 2007 are Kaka, Messi and C. Ronaldo. I feel that many people can agree on this. As for who will win the award; I believe Kaka will win. This isn't to say I feel he deserves it. I don't believe Kaka's performance last year even merits being named to the top three, however FIFA clearly has some bias towards large scale media events (i.e. Champions League) and because Kaka scored the most goals out of these three and his team club won the tournament he is sure to win. For further proof of FIFA's bias just look at last year when Cannavaro won based on his World Cup performance alone. FIFA clearly plays this award up to big names of the time and tries to include players people recognize and includes several players from major soccer countries regardless of them deserving to be on the list. Look at Deco, I love him and he is one of my favorite players but what did he do last season to entitle him to a place on this list.

I feel that Ronaldo is the clear cut candidate to win this trophy. He not only played extremely well in the Champions league but he was outstanding in the Premier league, not to mention his great form during international competition. Kaka played excellent during the Champions League tournament, he clearly earned and deserved the MVP of the Champions League because he greatly influenced AC Milan's championship form. However, apart from a few games Kaka had a relatively uninspired season. AC Milan performed poorly in Seria A and he played below form as well. Internationally he did little as well, although Brazil did win the Copa America, he again failed to play up to the level he played during the CL.

Messi was outstanding last season; I feel he is the best player on a team of super stars and super egos. Without Messi Barcelona would be another Real Madrid from a few years back which was overloaded with talent but unable to win (not the Barcelona won anything, but they were at least competitive and had the opportunity to win). What hurts Messi I feel is his injury and his team’s lack of silverware. Messi played outstanding, but was unable to inspire his team to win in Spain or in the CL. Messi's performance during the Copa America needs to also be kept in mind. I watched most of Argentina's games and they were fantastic, greatly in part to Messi's form. He was my favorite player to watch during the competition and he clearly demonstrated why he might in fact be the most dangerous offensive presence in Football today.

Ronaldo's season was a testament to his character and his skill. Starting the season in a sea of controversy over his on field encounter with Wayne Rooney during the 2006 World Cup, he was able to work past that and helped Manchester United reclaim a form they haven't had in many years. Ronaldo was consistent throughout the entire season, influencing the flow of attack in just about every game Man U. played in. Ronaldo's form supersedes his numbers, he is able to drift around the pitch and effectively play a variety of roles. From finishing with his head, bringing the ball down the middle of the field, delivering from a wide position and the list goes on. Ronaldo maintained the same presence for Portugal throughout their qualifiers for the 2008 Euro.

For me any trophy which is supposed to represent the "best" player needs to evaluate their impact for their team as well as their performance. Ronaldo put up outstanding statistics as well as helped to lift Manchester United back into the elite tier of European clubs from which they had fallen off in the past few years.

Cannavaro didn't win for his World Cup performance alone...he won because Fifa still recognised that Juventus won the scudetto  Next thing is that people get caught up in the "failure" of Barcelona, but neglect that they were still prominent in all of their competitions: Copa Del Rey - semi; liga - 2nd; CL - last 16; etc.  ~ that is still better than the majority of clubs around europe.

I am not sure if Messi should be considered so high up in the rankings, although i'm a barcelona fan, because he didn't play about half of the season and wasn't instrumental in Barcelona winning anything as we were pretty much bridemaids for everything.  As a matter of fact, the truth is that Zlatan should be more elible although I'm not sure if the prestige of Serie A was enough last season ~ it would be kinda bias not to make Zlatan at least 2nd, but people are pushing C. Ronaldo because he only won the EPL which by equating is what Zlatan did and won the Scudetto.  Okay, Man United got to the semi-finals in the UCL, but they were soundly beaten in the San Siro 3-0 while everyone would admit who watched the game at old trafford, they deserved to be beaten there as well, but they survived 3-2.  For that reason i ask, "Is the EPL your favourite league?" ...cause i've found that this influences peoples' push for C. Ronaldo while neglecting that it was also Zlatan's break-out season in Italy.  Zlatan scored almost the same amount of goals in one season at Inter that he did in two seasons at Juventus.

Your reference to C. Ronaldo is basically everything Zlatan was for Inter Milan last season and continues this season, however, this season, Inter continues to be Serie A leaders and last season were unbeaten.  You might say well, Juventus wasn't there and i agree, BUT, Ac Milan won the Champions League, hence influencing the fact that ITalian teams dominated major competitions last season with Spain taking up the Uefa Cup.  This, by the way, also indicates something as well which is the level of teams Barcelona has to play in LaLiga and the level of teams Manchester United has to play, similarly Zlatan's Inter Milan in Italy. 

I agree with your last point as well, and try to impress this on Entusiasta and co. who talk about Riquelme when i say that players like Kaka, Ronaldinho etc impact their teams more than Riquelme as you would've seen when Ronaldinho was out of form and Barcelona's form followed suit.  Nontheless, Zlatan's influence ~ never mind the money in the EPL ~ brought Inter Milan an unbeaten season's scudetto with an immediate super cup at the start of last season, his impact on Sweden is obviously not insignificant.  Therefore, since Kaka beat United so soundly and Inter were Serie A champions, given that United vs Roma was obviously a freak of nature unless it happens again this season, I would award as follows:

My list after careful consideration would be:  1. Kaka  2. Zlatan 3. C. Ronaldo