Leo Messi wins his third Ballon d'Or

The Argentinean star is named by FIFA as the best player of 2011, this is Messi’s third straight Ballon d’Or award

Messi equals Platini, Cruyff and Van Bastes, the only players to ever win three Ballon d’Or titles

At the age of 24, Leo Messi equals the record set by the Frenchman Michel Platini after winning three consecutive Ballon d’Or titles (2009, 2010 and 2011). Ronaldo handed the Argentinean the FIFA Ballon d’Or this afternoon in Zurich. Messi won the title thanks to votes placed by captains and managers of all the national sides and journalists from France Football.

The youngest player to ever win three Ballon d’Or titles

Besides equalling Platini as the second player in the history of the Ballon d’Or to win the title three times in a row, Messi also equals Johan Cruyff and Marco Van Basten, who have also won three Ballon d’Or titles, albeit not consecutively. In 2009, Messi won the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player, awarded by France Football and FIFA respectively. The following year, 2010, both entities decided to combine the award and call it FIFA Ballon d’Or. Leo Messi was the first winner of the new award, Iniesta and Xavi finished behind the Argentinean.