Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona Forward, Wins Record 5th FIFA Ballon d'Or Award

Shocking news of the day: Lionel Messi was the best soccer player on the planet in 2015. OK, that's not all that surprising. If you watched just 5 minutes of one Barcelona game over the past year you know why. The guy is incredible. However, on Monday, Messi's phenomenal year was made tangible when he won his 5th FIFA Ballon d'Or (an award to recognize the best player in the world for the calendar year), beating out 3-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo and fellow teammate, Neymar, for the prestigious award.

The Barcelona play-maker won the award with just over 41% of the vote. Ronaldo finished in second place at just under 28%, while Neymar concluded the top three with nearly 8% of the vote.

The award has been dominated for nearly a decade now between two men: Ronaldo and Messi, winning a combined 8 trophies in a row. However, after the diminutive Argentines latest triumph, it appears there's now a significant edge--5 to 3--in the battle for world supremacy. Something that is well warranted.

At the club level with Barcelona Messi won the La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, and finally the Champions League--an achievement referred to as the treble in the soccer world. He scored 57 goals and added 22 assists along the way, edging out Ronaldo's 54 goals and 17 assists.

"It's a very special moment for me to be back here on this stage, winning again another Ballon d'Or after seeing Cristiano win it," Messi said during his acceptance speech, via BBC.com.

"It's incredible that it's my fifth, much more than anything I would have dreamed of as a kid."

At just 28-years-old, Messi appears to be in the midst of his prime, and shows no signs of slowing down. In winning his 5th Ballon d'Or he's cemented his place in soccer history as one of the greatest--if not THE greatest--to ever play the game.

Enjoy it while you can, folks.