The Golden Ball, or Ballon d’Or in its original French form, has been awarded to the best player of the year since 1956. It was originally established by France Football to award the best European player in European leagues, but in 2007 it became a global prize as it is today. The award is voted by football writers around the globe as well as coaches and captains of the national teams. Messi’s historical sixth win came as a no big surprise, after many sources had witnessed the award organizers perform a photoshoot and an interview with the Barcelona and Argentina talisman already last week. Meanwhile, usually Messi’s closest rival, Cristiano Ronaldo was conveniently attending another awards ceremony in Italy at the time of Ballon d’Or ceremony. This time it was not a landslide victory nor a battle between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have shared the prize since 2008 up until last year. Last year’s surprise winner, Croatian international and Real Madrid star Luka Modric was extremely close to get some company in the stall of dark horse winners. Messi gathered the most points in voting, a grand total of 686, but it was an astonishingly close call: Liverpool’s and
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