Argentinian football player Lionel Messi was bestowed with the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the third consecutive year, at a star-studded ceremony in Zurich yesterday.The 24-year-old Barcelona and Argentina forward finished ahead of his Real Madrid rival Christiano Ronaldo and club-mate Xavi Hernandez.With this extra-ordinary feat, Messi has become the second player, after reigning UEFA President Michel Platini, to win the game's most prestigious individual honor, for the third consecutive time.This season, Messi scored his 200th goal for Barcelona and is closing in on Cesar Rodriguez's all-time record of 235 goals for the club.Barcelona had all the more reasons to celebrate yesterday, as coach Joseph Guardiola was adjudged FIFA Coach of the Year. The 40-year-old former Barcelona and Spain midfielder was nominated alongside Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United.Lionel Messi and Briton Wayne Rooney missed out on the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of 2011. The award was given to Santos forward Neymar for a remarkable solo goal that he scored in a Brazilian league game against Flamengo.Japanese midfielder Homare Sawa claimed the women's equivalent of the Ballon d'Or, after she won the Golden Boot for the top scorer and the Golden Ball for the Player of the tournament. Japan had secured their first ever Women's World Cup title in Germany. Japan coach Norio Sasaki was named Women's Coach of the Year.The Ballon d'Or award was formed when the Ballon d'Or merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2010.Every year, the award is given to national team coaches and captains, as well as a panel of football journalists selected by France Football magazine.