And the winner is Essien...selected together with Fabregas for the Caf's world XI.
Essien - 36 votes
Fabregas - 35
Gerrard - 34
Scholes - 30
Kaka - 29
Xavi - 28
Iniesta - 25
Pirlo - 24
Ballack - 20
De Rossi - 19
Lampard - 13
Carrick - 11
Sneijder - 10
Mascherano - 9
Cambiasso - 6
Gattuso - 5
Hargreaves - 4
Flamini - 2
Deco - 2
Diego - 2
Makelele - 2
Juninho - 1
Toulalan - 1
Assuncao - 1
Gonzalez - 1
Diarra - 1
Modric - 1
Anderson - 1
Fletcher - 1
Riquelme - 1
Guti - 1