Lionel Messi has been crowned the world's best player for a third successive year after beating off competition from Barcelona team-mate Xavi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or.
"It's a great personal pleasure for me," said Messi. "It's the third time I've won it. It's just an amazing honour. I want to thank everyone that's been involved with me -- my team-mates, trainers, physios, the coach (Pep Guardiola) and everyone at Barcelona. I'd also like to thank the Argentina national team as well."
Messi becomes only the second player, after current UEFA president Michel Platini, to win the award for three consecutive years. He also joins Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten as the only men to have won the prize on three occasions.
"I want to share this honour with my team-mate, Xavi," added Messi, who then addressed his club-mate in the audience at the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala in Switzerland. "He deserves it, too. I want to share it with you, because you deserve it as much as me. It's a pleasure to be here alongside him and to play with him."
The accolade caps off another memorable year for the pint-sized Argentine who was named man-of-the-match in both the Champions League and World Clup Cup finals last year after scoring in each.
He also played an integral role in Barca's successful defence of the Primera Division - their third straight league title in a row - the Spanish Supercopa and UEFA Super Cup.
Messi, 24, continued his incredible goalscoring rate over the 12 months, netting a staggering 57 goals in 65 games in the calendar year while also helping himself to now fewer than 35 assists for club and country.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Xavi both paid tribute to the Argentine, who, despite his tender age and failure to win the World Cup yet, has been hailed by many as the greatest player of all time.
While Ferguson refused to go that far he said Messi could now be judged alongside the greats of world football through the ages. "Critics have always questioned whether players like Pele from the 50s could play today," said Ferguson. "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. "Lionel Messi without question fits into that category."
Messi's Barca team-mate Xavi supported F
erguson's view, saying: "He's still young, only 24, and I think he's going to break all the records that exist in this sport. He's going to be one of the best footballers in the history of the sport."
erguson's view, saying: "He's still young, only 24, and I think he's going to break all the records that exist in this sport. He's going to be one of the best footballers in the history of the sport."
Unsurprisingly, Pep Guardiola was named Coach of the Year after winning five of the six competitions on offer for his side in 2011, with only the Copa Del Rey escaping his grasp after defeat to arch rivals Real Madrid - his first loss in a major final since taking over at Barca.
Meanwhile, Barca boasted five players in the world team of the year, while Madrid had four and Manchester United two with the inclusion of Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic.
The FIFPro World XI was: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd).
Other winners on the night: Japan's women's World Cup-winning captain Homare Sawa was named the women's player of the year; Japan's (male) manager Norio Sasaki coach of the year for women's football; the Japanese FA were awarded the FIFA fair play award; Brazilian 19-year-old sensation Neymar won the FIFA Puskas award for the best goal of 2011.
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