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 Argentine’s performances for the Catalan giants helped them lift the Champions League title as well as a domestic league and cup double – seeing him gain 42% of the overall vote.
#BallondOr voting:
Lionel Messi 41.33% of all votes.
Cristiano Ronaldo 27.76%.
Neymar 7.86%.— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) January 11, 2016
There was no double triumph for Messi at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, 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:
