Lionel Messi of Argentina, FIFA World Player of the Year 2012 smiles as he holds his FIFA Ballon d'Or trophy during the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2012 soccer awards ceremony at the Kongresshaus in Zurich. (Photo: Xinhua)
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi was awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or prize for the fourth time in a row on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Argentine beat team-mate Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo to the prize for the Player of the Year.
List of FIFA award winners
Ballon d'Or winners list
1956: Stanley Matthews (England)
1957: Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain)
1958: Raymond Kopa (France)
1959: Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain)
1960: Luis Suarez (Spain)
1961: Omar Sivori (Italy)
1962: Josef Masopust (Czech Republic)
1963: Lev Yashin (USSR)
1964: Denis Law (Scotland)
1965: Eusebio (Portugal)
1966: Bobby Charlton (England)
1967: Florian Albert (Hungary)
1968: George Best (Nigeria)
1969: Gianni Rivera (Italy)
1970: Gerd Muller (Germany)
1971: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1972: Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)
1973: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1974: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1975: Oleg Blokhin (USSR)
1976: Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)
1977: Alan Simonsen (Denmark)
1978: Kevin Keegan (England)
1979: Kevin Keegan (England)
1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany)
1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany)
1982: Paolo Rossi (Italy)
1983: Michel Platini (France)
1984: Michel Platini (France)
1985: Michel Platini (France)
1986: Igor Belanov (USSR)
1987: Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)
1988: Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1989: Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1990: Lothar Matthaus (Germany)
1991: Jean-Pierre Papin (France)
1992: Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1993: Roberto Baggio (Italy)
1994: Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)
1995: George Weah (Liberia)
1996: Matthias Sammer (Germany)
1997: Ronaldo (Brazil)
1998: Zinedine Zidane (France)
1999: Rivaldo (Brazil)
2000: Luis Figo (Portugal)
2001: Michael Owen (England)
2002: Ronaldo (Brazil)
2003: Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic)
2004: Andrei Shevchenko (Ukraine)
2005: Ronaldinho (Brazil)
2006: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
2007: Kaka (Brazil)
2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
2009: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2010: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2011: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2012: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Note: France Football Ballon d'Or merged with FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2010.
