The former Barcelona superstar, who led Argentina to glory at the World Cup in Qatar, where he scored seven times and was named the tournament's best player, beats Manchester City's Erling Haaland and PSG's Kylian Mbappe to win the award.
The award ceremony took place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, on Monday, October 30.
In his acceptance speech, Messi thanked his Argentina teammates and congratulated the other nominees.
The prestigious award has been dominated over the last 15 years by Messi and his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who have won it 12 times between them.
Only two other players have won the Ballon d'Or since Ronaldo claimed his first in 2008, Luka Modric won it in 2018 and Karim Benzema was crowned last year following a brilliant season with Real Madrid.
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