Figo thanks Real for award

FIFA World Player of the Year Luis Figo deflected praise away from himself and said that he only won the accolade due to his Real team-mates.

Figo, 29, scored enough votes to overtake the other two candidates for the award, his Real team-mate Raúl González and Manchester United's David Beckham.

The Portugal ace said: "The team that I play in made it possible for me to be here in Zurich and win this award. I gave too much thought about how my sporting career would be and couldn't imagine experiencing a moment like this, but with hard work, anything is possible."

Figo put down his success to 'teamwork' and praised his colleagues at Real Madrid, who are behind his rise to becoming the best player in the world.

"A team is a group of 20 players and each one has an important role to play. You can't achieve anything on your own, there's no one player that can make the difference," he said.

The FIFA award is the latest in a whole series of personal trophies picked up by Figo since he joined Real from Barcelona two seasons ago.

Last year he won France Football's Golden Ball award and despite being in the running once again this term, but he was pipped to the post by Liverpool striker Michael Owen for the European award.