"If I manage to win this trophy once again, it will mean the world to me," Cristiano Ronaldo said before the winner was announced.
Well, after 90 minutes of tension being cut into pieces, the envelope was opened by Pele and the world was indeed Ronaldo's - the Portuguese and Real Madrid superstar winning back the FIFA Ballon d'Or title from Lionel Messi after four years of dominance from the Argentine.
Year 2013 was Ronaldo's when it came to individual performances, with the ridiculous hat-trick against Sweden only underlining the great man's prowess, and deservedly helping him to one of the titles he covets the most - the prestigious FIFA Ballon d'Or.
Ronaldo was over the moon, and then some, with Messi and Franck Ribery having to wait at least one more year to have a go at the award yet again.
Jupp Heynckes expectedly won the Coach of the Year award after leading Bayern Munich to a treble, including the Bundesliga and the Champions League.
"It means an awful lot to pick up this award at the end of my career," Heynckes said. "It is not just down to me but the whole club of Bayern Munich."
Heynckes beat out competition from former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.
Ibrahimovic, who was perhaps a little unlucky not to be in the reckoning for the Ballon d'Or, picked up another title, winning the FIFA Puskas Award, voted by the fans, for that amazing bicycle kick goal scored against England.
With the 2014 Brazil World Cup just a little under five months away, the Brazil team were given centre-stage, with former great Ronaldo predicting a Brazil vs Germany final, while Neymar, the man that every Brazilian will turn to come June 12, said he would love a Brazil vs Argentina title clash.
Pele, the only man to win three World Cups, also spoke about his favourite moment, picking the 1970 as the most cherished World Cup win, owing to the fact that it was his last one.
But his moment was to come a little after when the Brazil legend, arguably the greatest ever to grace the game, was awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix de Honneur, a Special Award for his tremendous achievements in the sport.
With tears rolling down his eyes, Pele said he was humbled to have been given the award. "I promised to my family that I would not cry, but I could not help it," an emotional Pele said. "First I must thank God for the health to play for so many years.
"I was jealous of those guys getting the Ballon d'Or, because I couldn't win it as I didn't play in Europe. Now I have my trophy, thank you."
There was also a video tribute for the Portuguese legend Eusebio, who passed away last week, with loud applause in the entire arena following the honour.
The women's World Player of the Year award went to Nadine Angerer with the German international goalkeeper seeing off competition from Brazil's Marta and USA's Abby Wambach.
Angerer was instrumental on Germany's Euro 2013 victory, saving two crucial penalties in the final against Norway to help her side to the title.
Winners: Men: FIFA Ballon d'Or: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal).
Coach of the Year: Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich).
FIFA Puskas Award: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden vs England).
FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix de Honneur: Pele.
FIFA FIFPro Team of the Year: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich, Germany); Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich, Germany), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain), Thiago Silva (PSG, Brazil), Dani Alves (Barcelona, Brazil); Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain), Xavi (Barcelona, Spain), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich, France); Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG, Sweden), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina).
FIFA Fair Play Award: Afghanistan Football Federation.
FIFA Presidential Award: Jacques Rogge.
Women: Player of the Year: Nadine Angerer (Germany).
Coach of the Year: Silvia Neid (Germany).
