Cristiano Ronaldo Gets Ballon d’Or 2015; Beats Lionel Messi & Manuel Neuer

Cristiano Ronaldo bagged the FIFA Ballon d'Or World Footballer of the Year award for the second time in a row, BBC reports. He went against FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Gathering 37.66% of votes, this is the Real Madrid forward's third Ballon d'Or World Footballer of the Year win. Messi who have won the award four times in a row, came in second with 15.76%  of votes while Neuer finished third at 15.72%, the news outlet notes.

According to BBC, Ronaldo was emotional while receiving the award from Thierry Henry. 

"I would like to thank all of those who voted for me, my president, my coach and Real Madrid. It has been an unforgettable year. To win this trophy at the end of it is something incredibly unique," the football player said in his acceptance speech, as quoted by BBC.

The 29-year-old athlete scored 52 goals in 43 games last year, but he vowed to achieve more.

"I would like to continue the work that I have done so far. I want to try to improve, to become better as each day goes by. I never thought that I would bring this trophy back home on three occasions. I want to become one of the greatest players of all time," the Portuguese athlete added, according to TIME.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo's team, Real Madrid, won the Club World Cup this year, TIME adds.

Listed below are the other winners announced in the 2014 Ballon d'Or Gala.

Women's world player of the year: Nadine Kessler

Puskas award: James Rodriguez

World coach of the year for men's football: Joachim Low

World coach of the year for women's football: Ralf Kellermann

World XI: Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer; Defenders Philipp Lahm, Sergio Ramos, David Luiz, Thiago Silva; Midfielders Angel Di Maria, Toni Kroos, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Arjen Robben.

FIFA presidential award: Hiroshi Kagawa

FIFA fair play award: FIFA volunteers

Aside from winning the Ballon d'Or Award three times, Ronaldo also bagged nine major honors in 2014, including the Champions League, Copa del Rey, and the La Liga top scorer, the Daily Mail notes. His third Ballon d'Or puts him in line with other renowned athletes such as Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten.

When asked if he expects to win for the fourth time, Ronaldo answered as quoted by the Daily Mail, "A fourth? It depends on what I am going to do during the season but this is going to give me motivation to work hard and get myself more and more and we will see if I am here next year. It's more difficult to win it the third time than the first time."