It was a decision every football fan expected. Lionel Messi last night was awarded the Ballon d'Or trophy for a third consecutive year. The FC Barcelona player beat Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and team mate Xavi to the prize. In a vote among national team coaches, captains and selected media 24-year old Messi got 47 % of the votes, Ronaldo 21 % and Xavi 9 %.

Messi becomes only the fourth player to win the Ballon d'Or three times, the others being Dutchmen Johann Cruyff and Marco van Basten as well as French midfielder Michel Platini, although only Platini, like Messi, managed to win the prize three times in a row.

There wasn't really a reason not to award the Argentinian again, in 2011 Messi won the Champions League with Barcelona, also being voted man of the match, the Spanish league, Spanish Supercup, Uefa Supercup and the Club World Cup, scoring some memorable goals in the process.

Football pundits the world over are convinced that the diminutive Messi is billed for more glory in the coming years, as he continues to impress on a regular basis with Barcelona. There is however one challenge that remains for Messi, reaching glory with his national side Argentina.