Lionel Messi gave a short and sweet interview to fifa.com summing up his thoughts after he was crowned the FIFA Ballon d’Or winner third time in a row. Dressed in burgundy velvet jacket that would be the envy of Hugh Hefner, the Argentinian was expectedly all smiles as he held the trophy. You can read the complete interview here.

Excerpts from the interview after the jump.

You dedicated the award to Xavi in particular. Do you think he might stop passing the ball to you so that he can win the Ballon d’Or himself?

No! He’s said lots of times what he thinks of me and I’ve said the same about him. We need each other and the friendship we have goes beyond any award.

Did you ever think you’d ever achieve so much in such little time?

To be honest I didn’t. I dreamed about playing in the first division, but I never imagined that all these things would happen to me.

How does it feel to be the centre of attention on a night like this, with so many great players alongside you, many of whom you no doubt admired as a youngster?

(Blushes) I just want to keep on playing and enjoy this sport and the team we’ve got, and I hope we can keep our run going.

Source: www.fifa.com; Image credit: FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images