On Monday evening, Lionel Messi was named World Player of the Year for a record fourth time, retaining a stranglehold on the FIFA Ballon d'Or dating back to 2009. The prolific Argentina and Barcelona forward has now bested three-time winners Ronaldo (1996, 1997, 2002) and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2000, 2003) as he became the first man to claim the prestigious award on four occasions.
“Congratulations from FC Bayern. Lionel Messi deserves it. He’s simply the best player at the present time,” commented FCB chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, “if he keeps it up, he’ll soon be mentioned in the same breath as the greats such as Diego Maradona, Pele and Franz Beckenbauer.”
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