Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi receives the FIFA Ballon d’Or award during the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards ceremony at the Kongresshaus in Zurich on January 7, 2013. -AFP photo
Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi won an unprecedented fourth Ballon d’Or at a FIFA gala here on Monday.
The 25-year-old, who scored an all-time record 91 goals last year, saw off Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta as he captured the award for the fourth straight year.
Spain’s Vicente del Bosque was named coach of the year for 2012, seeing off competition from Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho and former Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola. –AFP