It was never in doubt.
Lionel Messi has been named the world’s greatest player for a record fifth time.
The Barcelona star picked up the Ballon d’Or at the star-studded gala in Zurich this evening, beating team-mate Neymar and Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to the award.
The Argentina star’s performances for the Catalan giants, helping them lift the Champions League title, as well as a domestic league and cup double, meant Messi was the red-hot favourite to reclaim the award, with last year’s winner Ronaldo effectively admitting defeat in the pre-gala press conference.
In the end, Messi claimed victory with nearly 42 per cent of all votes cast.
#BallondOr voting: Lionel Messi 41.33% of all votes. Cristiano Ronaldo 27.76%. Neymar 7.86%.
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) January 11, 2016
However, there was no double triumph for the little maestro, however, as he failed to pick up the Puskas Award for his wonderful weaving run against Athletic Bilbao.
Instead, that award went to Brazilian Wendell Lira for this acrobatic effort:
