Lionel Messi Wins Fifth FIFA Ballon d'Or Award

As many had called it, Lionel Messi won his record fifth FIFA Ballon d’Or award Monday in Zurich.

The Barcelona forward beat other leading candidates, garnering 41.33% of the total vote count. Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid amassed 27.6%, while Naymar of Barca finished third in the tally with 7.86%, as detailed by the BBC.

For some, Messi’s choice was a no-brainer. Without question, the 28-year-old soccer star has been proving himself despite the rise of other noteworthy players like Naymar and Ronaldo.

His actions speak for his recognition. He started back in January with his performance in the Champions League final, where the forward scored a record 34 goals in 34 games. This happened when many felt that he was on the decline after the 2014 World Cup.

He merely needed some adjustments and soul searching, and the result was Messi returning this year entirely different and even getting over the hump of that poor showing in 2014. So is it any wonder why he would be the top choice for his fifth award?

Messi of course drew his share of criticism, mostly questioning his showboating antics. This happened in February when he produced a 20-minute display of dribbling, passing and combination play that observers felt was pointless. However, there were some who lauded Messi’s play, calling it the best individual display of attacking football, as explained via The Guardian.

Looking forward, what are Messi’s plans? Is he entertaining thoughts of moving to another club?

A report from ESPN FC bares that the Argentine player has no plans of doing so and plans to finish his career in Barcelona, which he terms as “home”.

"I've always said that I don't want to leave Barcelona," Messi said. "It's always the same response. My idea is I want to finish my career at home, and my home is Barca."

With that said, teams that were hoping to bait him (like Premier League Manchester City or Chelsea) may have to deal with the fact that all hopes of snagging the talented forward have been shut down.

Apparently, the mentioned clubs felt they had a good chance of hooking up Messi with reports of unrest at Camp Nou last year.

Messi spoke on the alleged issue and made it clear that he never had any intention of leaving Barcelona.

"Football has many twists," he said. "A year ago, we were all getting criticised and we ended up winning nearly everything.