Argentina and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the inaugural Fifa Ballon d’Or award at a ceremony held in Zurich.
The highly talented Messi won the prize, a merger of the Fifa Player of the Year prize and Ballon d’Or, ahead of his Barca team-mates Andres Iniesta, who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, and Xavi, considered the backbone of the Spainish team.
Messi, though, scored 60 goals for club and country during 2010 and is widely considered one of the most gifted players of recent times. He won both of the separate titles last year.
Real Madrid coachJose Mourinho, who won an unprecedented Treble with Inter Milan in 2010 and is successful wherever he goes, was named the Coach of the Year.