Messi wins Ballon d'Or four times in a row

The match was a monumental occasion for Messi, who ended up breaking Gerd Muller's world record of 85 goals.

2013 couldn’t have started better for Messi. He successfully managed to win the Ballon d’Or award for the fourth time in a row; an achievement which hasn’t been accomplished before.

On January 7, the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony was held in Zurich, Switzerland. Messi won this prestigious award ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Andreas Iniesta.

2012 itself was a record breaking year for the 25-year-old Argentinean maestro Lionel Messi. Prior to the match against Real Betis on Dec 9, 2012, he had scored 84 goals (in the year) and this meant that he needed two more goals to surpass the previous record of 85 goals held by the German legendary striker Gerd Muller.

The match turned out to be a monumental occasion for the Barcelona forward Messi, who ended up breaking Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals.

Messi scored 91 goals for the season. He is the highest goal scorer in the history of Futbol Club (FC) Barcelona.

Lionel Messi has been invincible in the last few seasons, renowned for his lethal finishing, dribbling skills and ball control; he is able to alert the best of defences in the world. Perhaps, what makes him scarier for his opponents is that he is still improving and becoming better with each passing season.

Messi’s fourth Balon d’Or in a row signifies that he has surpassed legends such as Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo. The latter players had won the Ballon d’Or thrice in their respective careers.

After Messi’s profound success, he is being compared to legends such as Pele and Maradona. However, some critics believe that he is unable to compete with them due to his lack of success on an international level.

While Pele and Maradona have been responsible for bringing the World Cup home, Messi has not had such an opportunity before. But with time on his side, he can attain this success at the international stage for Argentine. Lucky for him, the World Cup 2014 will be in the neighbouring Brazil.

Statistics and figures prove that Messi is the best player of his era. He's unstoppable.

So, as avid football fans we must know that we are getting to witness something special when Messi is playing. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the show put up by one of the greatest players of our generation!

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