Lionel Messi picked up an unprecedented fifth FIFA Ballon d'Or last night.
He won the prize with 41.33% of the vote, finishing ahead of 2014 and 2013 winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who was second with 27.76% of the vote.
Neymar finished third with 7.86%.
The result had been expected, with Messi the favourite to claim the prize.
Martin O'Neill agreed with the result, also giving Messi the Number One spot in his vote for the World’s best player.
However, Ronaldo was edged into third place in O’Neill’s ranking, with the Irish boss believing Eden Hazard was the second best player of 2015, despite the Chelsea man’s lack of goals, or any sort of form, since last May.
As captain, Robbie Keane’s vote went to Ronaldo as number one, with Messi pushed into second place and Neymar getting third spot.
Ireland’s media representative was Paul Kelly, who is the Ireland correspondent for France Football magazine.
He agreed that Messi was the best player in the world, with his Barca teammate Luis Suarez in second place and Ronaldo claiming third spot.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill voted Messi as the world’s third best player- and omitted Ronaldo altogether.
O’Neill, who picked up the RTE Sport Manager of the Year and BBC Sport Coach of the Year award last month, felt Suarez was top of the pile this year, with Robert Lewandowski in second place.
Last year, England manager Roy Hodgson sent Twitter into a frenzy, by voting for Javier Mascherano as the best player in the world, with Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer as his other choices.
This year he went the more conventional route, picking Ronaldo for the top prize, Messi second and Hazard third.
There was plenty of tactical voting among the nominees themselves, who all had votes as the captain of their country.
Messi left Ronaldo out altogether, with his Barca teammates Suarez, Neymar and Andrés Iniesta getting the nod.
Ronaldo also voted for his club teammates, with Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema first, James Rodriguez second and Gareth Bale in third place.
And Neymar followed a similar note, voting Messi as Number One, Suárez in second and Barca midfielder Ivan Rakitic in third.
See the full voting list here.
