Hat trick! Messi,Winner of Ballon d' - 3 times in a row

Last night, Monday, January 9, 2012, FC Barcelona striker Lionel Messi became the first FIFA player to win the Ballon d’Or title three times in a row.
The 24-year-old Argentine beat club teammate Xavi Hernandez and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo to win 2011 edition of the award.

‘It’s a huge honour’, Messi said as he received the trophy from past winner and football great Ronaldo.
Before the night, there had been only two other three-time winners – Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo (’96, ’97, ’02) and French player Zinedine Zidane (’98, ’00, ’03).