MESSI TAKES THIRD BALLON D'OR

Lionel Messi has once again proved that he is the best player in the world by winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the third consecutive year.

Lionel Messi managed to win almost every major trophy with Barcelona last season and also scored a number of goals in the process.

He is undoubtedly the best player in the world right now because he combines skill with trophies and this is something that cannot be matched by any player. Even though Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals than Lionel Messi, he has lost out when it comes to the importance of the trophies won.

Lionel Messi has lifted the likes of the Champions League and the la Liga, while Cristiano Ronaldo managed to win only the Copa del Ray. Aside from the Champions League and the la Liga, Lionel Messi also won the Spanish Supercopa, Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup.

The numerous achievements by Lionel Messi has not gone unnoticed, as he won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award with a massive 47 percentage of the votes. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson praised Lionel Messi by saying that he is someone who combines the best of every great player on the planet today.

"Critics have always questioned whether players like Pele from the 50s could play today. The answer to that is great players would play in any generation. Lionel Messi could play in the 1950s and the present day, as could Di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff because they are all great players," said Ferguson.

Manchester United had Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic included in the world XI, which is largely dominated by the Spanish players. Brazilian forward Neymar won the goal of the year award ahead of both Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.