As was customary, before the final award was announced, the three nominees had to go onstage for a brief interview.
The three of them were already thoroughly familiar with such occasions, especially Yang Yang.
As the leading figure in world football over the past few years, he calmly stated at the venue that he was very satisfied with his performance over the past season. Regardless of whether he won the award, he wanted to thank everyone at Real Madrid for their support. At the same time, he said that if Messi or Iniesta won, he would sincerely offer them his congratulations.
Yang Yang's statement was neither servile nor overbearing. It displayed the pride and confidence of the leading figure in world football while also taking Messi and Iniesta's feelings into consideration. During the interviews that followed, the two also expressed their respect for Yang Yang. It could be considered a fitting exchange of goodwill.
Afterward, Platini announced that the event had entered the tense voting stage.
The voters were football journalists from fifty-three countries and regions under UEFA, but the rules for the two rounds of voting were different.
In the first round, each journalist submitted a list of five players and ranked them. The first-place player received five points, the second received four, and so on, with the fifth receiving one point. The final scores were then calculated.
Although UEFA did not publicly announce the total scores of the top three players in the first round, the media had already revealed that Yang Yang had taken first place by a narrow margin. His treble with Real Madrid had simply been too eye-catching.
But the rules for the second round of voting were different. The fifty-three journalists at the venue voted on the top three players, with each person allowed