Ballon d'Or 2015 Winner: Voting Results, Reaction to Lionel Messi's Victory

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has been awarded the 2015 Ballon d'Or, beating team-mate Neymar and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo to the coveted gong: The Argentinian is now a five-time Ballon d'Or winner. In women's soccer, the United States' Carli Lloyd was named the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year on Monday.For Messi, his latest award is deserved recognition for his contribution to a momentous year for Barcelona."It's a very special moment for me," Messi said as he accepted the award. "It's incredible that it's my fifth. It's much more than I dreamed of as a kid."The Catalan giants won the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup in 2015, with Messi instrumental in all five triumphs.Messi's 2015 stats were quite staggering as he continued his prolific form as both a goalscorer and creator, per Sport Extra HD:He netted twice as Barca beat Athletic Bilbao in May's Copa final, his first of the match unquestionably one of the goals of the year, per the club's Twitter feed:The Blaugrana's European triumph was inspired by the incredible form of their front three ofMessi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.Messi has been beaten to the Ballon d'Or by Ronaldo in each of the last two years, but there is little question that the 28-year-old outperformed his illustrious rival in 2015, per FourFourTwo:The superlative duo have now monopolised the award for the last eight seasons.Messi's impact in the latter stages of 2015 was somewhat tempered by his lengthy spell on the sidelines after injuring his knee in September.However, he has still made an impressive contribution for Barca this season, netting ninegoals and providing fourassists in 13 La Ligaappearances, perWhoScored.com.With Luis Enrique's side easily through to the latter stages of the Champions League and currently two points behind Atletico Madrid with a game in hand in La Liga, more silverware surely awaits Messi in 2016.His fifth Ballon d'Or triumph is further recognition of his sustained brilliance and another indication of his standing among the best players of all time.
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