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Lyon midfielder Benoît Pedretti has been awarded this year's not-so-prestigious 'Ballon de Plomb' – the Lead Ball.
At the opposite end of the scale to the Ballon d'Or won by Ronaldinho last week, the Ballon de Plomb is chosen by readers of Cahiers du Football magazine, 41.8% of whom plumped for the on-and-off France international.
"The fourth wheel of the Lyon tricycle, [Pedretti] fulfils two of the three characteristics of the Ballon de Plomb: a dubious career choice and questionable behaviour on and away from the pitch," said the magazine.
"Some people will say that the third characteristic – the player's quality – should be the most crucial, but the voters underlined the importance of career choices and general attitude."
Cahiers du Football also speculated that their readers were motivated by "the irritation provoked by Lyon's annoying President [Jean-Michel Aulas]."
Aulas made it his business to bring in Pedretti from Marseille during the summer, just a year after he had moved there from Sochaux, but since then the 25-year-old has made just eight starts for the champions.
As a result, he has virtually disappeared from the international stage and he looks to have few chances of becoming a first-team regular at the Stade Gerland.
Second in the poll was OM goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, who was involved in a spitting controversy last season, while former Marseille defender Philippe Christanval - "not even considered a footballer anymore", according to the magazine - finished third.
The Full List
1. Benoît Pedretti 3333 votes 41,78%
2. Fabien Barthez 1541 19,32%
3. Philippe Christanval 1122 14,2%
4. Ibrahima Bagayoko 806 10,1%
5. Bernard Mendy 764 9,58%
6. Alexander Viveros 596 7,47%
7. Charles-Edouard Coridon 349 4,37%
8. Stéphane Dalmat 312 3,91%
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