Is Figo the best in the world?

Real Madrid and Portugal's Luis Figo wins Fifa's World Player of the Year award, with David Beckham second and Raul third.

Did the right man win?

Luis Figo is the heartbeat of Real Madrid's star-studded side and Portugal's finest player since Eusebio.

Figo, who was runner-up last year to Zinedine Zidane, had said Raul deserved the accolade, and rubbished David Beckham's claims before the ceremony.

The Manchester United and England star grabbed second place in the vote, with Figo's Real Madrid team-mate Raul third.

The award, which is voted for by 130 national team coaches, has never been awarded to an English player.

Do you agree with the result?

---

All these awards are ridiculous. So many over rated players in the lists, and so many great players ignored. I just hope people don't take them too seriously. Owen's award is fair though; he's a great striker. But the rest is all nonsense.
Kazan Michels, USA

Given the shortlist of three, Figo was a worthy winner. However I think the question has to be asked what criteria are used in deciding the nominations for this award. One only has to look at the presence of David Beckham in the shortlist of three to realise that something is not quite right.

While he is one of the top players in the world on his day, he has not shown anywhere near the consistency required to be nominated for the award. While he gave some superhuman performances for England in recent games, he was consistently outperformed at club level by teammates Keane and Giggs. In future, I would like to see the consistent performers recognised instead of the glamour players.
John, Ireland

Figo is not a better player than Zidane but has had a better season at both club and international level

Paul, Ireland

The decision was totally right. Figo is a better dribbler and all-round player than Raul and Beckham, and lets not forget that a huge deal of the goals that Raul has scored have come from the pass and crosses delivered by Figo. All coaches would want him in their side. He's a deserved winner.
Hormoz Gilyane, Iran

Beckham is not even among the favourites for winning France Football's "Ballon d'Or", for which he is far behind Owen, Raul and Khan. So how could he possibly be awarded the World Player award by the Fifa? After giving it to Figo instead of Zidane last year, this federation is definitely going nuts.
Marc, London

Come on! I cannot believe this! The worst player of the three has won! Figo's not exceptional. He has his moments a few times a year and everyone keeps raving about it. Figo's nothing special and once again Fifa have showed their poll is a fix!
Alex Smit, Netherlands

Yes you have to agree with the result. Figo is not a better player than Zidane but has had a better season at both club and international level. David Beckham's agent should also have got an award for getting him into the picture.
Paul, Ireland

Given the shortlist of three that there was to choose from, Figo was maybe the best, but I would have given it to Raul. However, there were some better players in the last year such as Andrey Shevchenko.
James, France