Italy's World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro is set to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year, reported Spanish radio station Cadena SER on Sunday.
Cadena SER even went so far as to publish details of the poll, ahead of the award ceremony in the Swiss city of Zurich yesterday, with the Real Madrid defender getting 498 votes.
Cannavaro claimed on Sunday that he was still in the dark about the destination of the award.
"I don't know anything about the FIFA Player of the Year. On Monday [yesterday], I'll be going to the gala but I don't know if I'll be winning. I knew about the Ballon d'Or [the European Footballer of the Year which is awarded by France Football magazine] a few days before. But this time, no," Cannavaro said.
"If it's confirmed it will be incredible. A spectacular year: winning the World Cup, the Italian league, being sold to Real Madrid," he added after Real's 1-0 win at Espanyol on Sunday.
Cadena SER did not reveal their source of the voting details although they have strong links with the Spanish giants and have been ahead of their opposition with big stories concerning Real.
Normally the FIFA World Player of the Year voting is only revealed to the media an hour or so before the televised announcement, and then only on a strictly embargoed basis.
According to the radio station, France's retired three-time winner Zinedine Zidane, who finished his career in controversy by getting sent off in the World Cup final, is second this time with 454 votes.
Brazil and Barcelona's 2004 and 2005 winner Ronaldinho is supposed to be third this time with 380 votes.
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