MESSI BAGS FIFTH BALLON D’OR
Barcelona star Lionel Messi has regained the World Player of the Year title back ahead of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo to win his fifth FIFA Ballon d’Or.
Messi took top spot ahead off his eternal rival Ronaldo in second and Eden Hazard from Chelsea in third.
Barcelona won La Liga under Tito Vilanova in 2013, with Messi scoring a staggering 46 goals in 39 appearances.
Former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, New York Red Bulls skipper Thierry Henry and Paris Saint-Germain manager Diego Maradona are just three of the high profile names believed to have voted for the Argentine.
In the younger category, Bayern Munich star Mario Gotze was awarded with the European Golden Boy gong after a sensational season with 'The Bavarians' and Borussia Dortmund.
The 21-year-old, who first won the award back in 2011, scored a handy 10 goals in 28 league appearances for Dortmund last season and now has nine goals and eight assists in 24 appearances for Bayern Munich.
On the topic of goals, Messi also triumphed as Europe’s top goalscorer after beating Ronaldo and PSG striker Edinson Cavani.
After winning the award last season, Messi’s 46 goals for the calendar year beat the 34 scored by the Portuguese winger and Cavani’s 29.
The two La Liga stars did however star once again in the FIFA Team of the Year as expected, in a team that contains none other than seven changes from its last version.
The new Team of the Year includes the likes of Juan Mata from Manchester United, Bayern Munich’s David Alaba and Arsenal’s latest signing Neven Subotic.