Messi, 28, had finished behind long-time rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, in both 2013 and 2014, but was a clear winner of FIFA’s top individual honour for a fifth time in his career
Browsing: Cristiano Ronaldo
The prolific forward’s scoring feat saw him set a new record of 11 strikes for the group stage of the competition, and helped his side consolidate the top spot in Group A
Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Franck Ribery and Manuel Neuer have been among the challengers over the past five years, but Messi and Ronaldo have finished either first or second in the last four editions
The visitors had a glorious chance to take the lead in the early stages of the match as Luka Modric slipped a pass into the feet of Cristiano Ronaldo on the edge of the box, but the forward could only fire his effort over the crossbar
After a pre-match tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks, Barca started brightly with Luis Suarez and Neymar linking up well for the latter to fire over from the edge of the box
“I don’t care if Messi wins the Ballon d’Or. I know that it is not in my hands whether I win this award or not. It all depends on others,” Ronaldo told Kicker
As individuals, Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the game for the best part of the last decade, with the last seven Ballon d’Ors won by one of the two
The Portugal captain and FIFA Ballon d’Or holder netted 61 times in all competitions in 2014-15, although Real missed out on the three main titles as arch rivals, Barcelona, swept to a treble of Champions League, La Liga and King’s Cup triumphs
The Real Madrid star worked under Ferguson at United between 2003 and 2009 and he has nothing but fond memories of his former boss, stressing that the 73-year-old was there for him when he needed him most
The Portuguese could be leaving Real Madrid in the summer, and has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain
Rafael Benitez’s side went on the front foot from the off and should have made the most of half-chances for Isco and Raphael Varane from Toni Kroos’s corners, before Andriy Pyatov saved well to deny Gareth Bale after the Welshman had flicked Dani Carvajal’s driven cross towards goal
Real Madrid have clinched the International Champions Cup with a comfortable 4-1 win over Manchester City in Melbourne. Karim Benzema,…
Gareth Bale had a chance to open the scoring inside the first five minutes when he forced his way into the penalty area before firing towards the Atletico goal, but Jan Oblak was ready to deny the Welshman
The visitors had the first chance of the night as Max Meyer played the ball forward for Eric Choupo-Moting, but his finish was a fraction wide
However, the hosts were left disappointed when Dani Carvajal was allowed time on the wing to deliver a cross for Cristiano Ronaldo, who headed past Timon Wellenreuther from close range
Antoine Griezmann and Mandzukic should both START up front again having each scored in the win over Eibar, but Fernando Torres is likely to feature at some point having found the back of the net against both Real and Barca since his return to the club
Ronaldo was favourite even before the ceremony
CR7 boxers go missing all the time in the Ronaldo household, and the Portugal captain is pointing the finger squarely at his better half
Having already matched Barcelona’s landmark streak of 18 during the 2005-06 season, Madrid knew that they needed to secure just one more win to surpass their arch-rivals
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale headline the 40-man shortlist, with the results being announced at the beginning of next year.
A record 6.3 million votes were cast in last year’s edition, where Real Madrid’s Ronaldo enjoyed a seventh successive appearance inside Europe’s elite