Lionel Messi Wins the world best footballer of the year for the fourth time

Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi has been Awarded world footballer of the year for the fourth time in a row, marking another unprecedented achievement.................

He pipped Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo to the title
No other male footballer has been named the best on the planet in four separate years, let alone four in succession.

Messi has monopolized the coveted trophy since he was 21

Lionel Messi, still only 25 years old, was awarded FIFA's Ballon d'Or at a ceremony in Zurich on Monday evening. Messi won the Ballon d'Or in 2011 and 2010, and in 2009 he was named FIFA's World Player of the Year - the previous incarnation of the award.

Messi scored 91 goals and set up another 22 in just 69 games during the 2012 calendar year, breaking the 40-year goal record set by German legend Gerd Müller.
"It's incredible to win a fourth in a row, amazing," Messi said. "I want to share this with my Barcelona team mates and my Argentina team mates."

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who spearheaded his side's title challenge at Barcelona's expense, was voted in second, with Messi's Barcelona team mate Andres Iniesta third.
Loyal Löw praises his own
The Ballon d'Or decision is reached via a vote of countries' national team coaches, captains, and media representatives, who choose their own top three in order of preference, with points allocated accordingly.

Löw sided with his own star, Mesut Özil

Germany coach Joachim Löw chose to honor his own star players, voting playmaker Mesut Özil as number 1, with his goalie Manuel Neuer in second and Barcelona midfield maestro Xavi Hernandez third. Özil was the best-placed German in the overall standings, voted into 14th place for his season as Real Madrid string-puller.
Löw's captain Philipp Lahm, one might argue, voted more with his head than his heart, picking Iniesta, then Messi, then Ronaldo - meaning he had the top three, just in a different order.