Lionel Messi has won a record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or title after taking out the prestigious award on Tuesday morning.
Robert Lewandowski was considered a strong chance of denying Messi the honour after a record-breaking campaign.
The Bayern Munich and Poland striker scored a Bundesliga record 41 goals in just 29 games last season to better the record set by the late Gerd Mueller.
Messi, meanwhile, has had a disrupted year after moving to Paris Saint-Germain but had 30 league goals in his final season at Barcelona along with a win at the Copa del Rey.
He could also lean on Argentina’s victory at the Copa America as evidence of his credentials for the award.
“It is incredible to be here again,” Messi said after accepting the award.
“Two years ago I thought that it was my last year and now I am here again. I am very happy, very excited and wanting to fight for new challenges.
“I do not know how long I have left but I hope it will be a long time. I want to thank my teammates from Barcelona and PSG, and especially the Argentina team. I won this award and I had the feeling that I was missing something and this year I was able to achieve it.
“A large part of this trophy is because of what we did in the Copa America, so thanks to my teammates, this is also yours. My wife, my children, my father, my mother are here.
“It is a huge honor to fight with Robert [Lewandowski]. Last year you were the winner and I think France Football should give it to you.”
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have now combined to win 12 of the past 13 editions of the Ballon d’Or but missed out this time around.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, was not expected to take out the award this time around and was not in attendance on Tuesday.
He finished sixth in the polling, the first time since 2010 he had ranked outside the top three.
The Manchester United superstar skipped the ceremony in Paris and revealed on Instagram why he opted against attending the prestigious event.
Ronaldo took to Instagram lash out at Pascal Ferre - the man responsible for the award - following claims his only career goal was to have more Ballon d’Or trophies than Lionel Messi.
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1ST - Lionel Messi (613 points)
2nd - Robert Lewandowski (580)
3rd - Jorginho (460)
4th - Karim Benzema (239)
5th - N’Golo Kante (186)
6th- Cristiano Ronaldo (178)
7th - Mohamed Salah (121)
8th - Kevin De Bruyne (73)
9th - Kylian Mbappe (58)
10th - Gianluigi Donnarumma (36)
Story first published on Fox Sports Australia