Widely regarded to win the FIFA World Player Award, Lionel Messi was largely modest in FIFA's Gala preceding the presentation of the award.

When asked of his reaction to receiving the award, Messi expressed his happiness. "It is a great joy to be here for the 3rd consecutive year. It is the culmination of a year that cannot be improved upon".

When asked about his favourite memory of a record year for Barcelona, the Argentine cited the Champions League final victory as his highest achievement. He also went on to praise FIFA for their organization of the Club World Cup and cited the Abu Dhabi fans as "very enthusiastic".

As for what is in store for the rest of 2010, the Ballon d'Or winner highlighted the importance of working to continue to achieve good results saying that Barca would continue to fight for all titles.

Seated next to Xavi, Iniesta, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kaka, the three Barcelona players were markedly shorter than their Madrid counterparts and when asked of the height difference, Messi downplayed its importance, saying "Barca have some tall players, but also players who can run a match. Football is such that height does not matter as much as talent."

The Argentine had high praise for the rest of the candidates and thanked Crisitano Ronaldo for his warm compliments, saying that the arrivals of CR9 and Kaka to La Liga will reinforce the Spanish league. However, he did not go so far as to say that La Liga stood atop the world as the best league citing England's teams that are always near the top of the Champions League. Of Robinho's possible transfer to Barcelona in January, Messi chose not to comment, but said that if the Brazilian did come to Barca, he would be welcome.

Finally, when asked why he could not manage to replicate his club form for the Argentina national team, Messi was evasive. "I just want to say that I will try to do the same thing for the Albiceleste as for Barca. The qualifying matches were difficult, but World Cup can be very different. I have achieved everything I can for my club, now I would like to do the same for the national team".