The 2007 Ballon d'Or winner Kaka hailed Barcelona star Lionel Messi to be his successor for the 2008 award. The AC Milan playmaker, who spent long spells of 2008 struggling with a troublesome knee, gave Messi his vote ahead of Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo. "Messi is a truly great player," Kaka told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Cristiano Ronaldo is also very good and deserves the prize, but I want Leo to be my successor. "He has incredible ability and can control the ball superbly and that makes him one of the best players in the world. "I think he is the sort of player that you would always want in your team." Nevertheless, the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year is hoping to complete his recovery from injury in order to try defending the title he clinched last year. "I am only talking about this year. My aim is to recover my form as quickly as possible and to try and win the trophy again in Paris and the FIFA World Player of the Year in Zurich," he added. Messi came second after Kaka in 2007, as Ronaldo was third.
