All along it looked like that it was going to be the turn of a Spanish player to win the award for the first time since Luis Suarez won it. But that wasn’t meant to be as Argentinian striker Lionel Messi walked away with the FIFA Ballon d’Or, thereby retaining the two prizes that he won last year. “Thanks so much for this applause,” said Messi. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to win today, but it was already great to be here next to my two mates. To win it makes it even more special. I want to share with all of my mates, my family, all the Barcelonistas and the Argentinians.” Messi’s scintillating performances for FC Barcelona were too hard to ignore for selected  journalists, and football coaches and captains of national teams, all of whom voted for the prize. FIFA rightfully brought Barca manager Pep Guardiola to announce the winner and present the trophy, making it a cherished moment for Cules all over.

The evening was made even more memorable as six Barca players were in FIFA’s FIFPro Team Of the Year 2010. Joining the three finalists – Messi, Iniesta and Xavi – were Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique and David Villa. In other news, Jose Mourinho walked away with the World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football ahead of Vicente del Bosque and Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich’s Hamit Altintop won the FIFA Puskas Award for best goal of 2010.