With the exception of Wendell Lira, the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or Award ceremony served up nothing in the way of surprises on Monday night. Lionel Messi won the top men's award, while Carli Lloyd took home the hardware on the women's side.
If you paid attention to world football in 2015, you were probably expecting both. And that's because, although both players excelled individually, their respective teams also reached the pinnacle of the sport in the last 12 months.
Let's start with Messi. In 2015, the little striker scored 52 goals and assisted 26 more in 61 games for Barcelona and Argentina.