Lionel Messi wins Golden Eleven ahead of Ronaldo

For the third consecutive year, the French magazine Onze Mondial elected Lionel Messi the best soccer player of the year, based on the votes of its readers.

The Barcelona striker won the Golden Eleven award with 47.5 percent of the votes, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo into second place (27.95%), while the Colombian Radamel Falcao complete the podium after receive 6.10 percent of votes.

Messi is the third player to receive this award for the third time, equaling Michel Platini (1983, 1984 and 1985) and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2000 and 2001). Cristiano Ronaldo earned the award in 2008.