JOHANNESBURG - Uruguay striker Diego Forlan was on Sunday surprisingly awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the 2010 World Cup.

Atletico Madrid striker Forlan grabbed five goals at the tournament as his country finished in fourth place after losing Saturday's third-place playoff to Germany.

The former Manchester United player polled 23.4 percent of the votes awarded by media covering the tournament with Wesley Sneijder, of runners-up Holland, on 21.8 percent, and David Villa, of newly-crowned champions Spain, taking 16.9 percent.