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What's the story?
As the current season finally wrapped up with the all-English showdown in the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, in which the Reds emerged victoriously, Barcelona striker Lionel Messi finished the campaign as the competition's top scorer, a spot he was pretty much assured of for the majority of the season, with 12 goals to his name.
In clinching the award for the first time since the 2014/15 season, the Argentine finally brought an end to Cristiano Ronaldo's six-season long dominance as the sharpest shooter at the tournament, having shared the podium with him and former teammate Neymar that season.
In case you didn't know...
Ronaldo has finished as the top scorer at the competition for a record seven times, once with Manchester United and six times with Real Madrid, though he couldn't find his goalscoring touch with Juventus this time around.
The 34-year-old Portuguese forward also holds the record for most goals in a single campaign, producing a return of 17 goals in the 2013/14 season.
Messi himself enjoyed a four-season streak between 2008/09 and 2011/12, a period in which he lifted his first treble with The Catalans.
The heart of the matter...
Barcelona suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of eventual champions Liverpool in the semi-finals, but their captain was at his prolific best throughout the campaign, scoring 12 goals and ending with four more than his closest rival Robert Lewandowski.
In the last 12 years, apart from Kaka's exploits in front of the goal during AC Milan's triumph in the 2006/07 season, only Neymar has been able to share the podium with the duo that has won 10 Ballon d'Ors between them.
Messi, 31, had breached the 50-goal mark this season as well and was the winner of top scorer's award in LaLiga, even claimed the European Golden Shoe for a record sixth-time and now has completed a clean sweep of winning the all the major top-scorer's awards he was eligible for this season.
What's next?
Lionel Messi will lead Argentina in Copa America that kicks off in Brazil two weeks from now, as La Albiceleste chase their first major silverware since 1993.
