Last year's FIFA Ballon d'Or winner is now crowned the best in Europe by UEFA following a sensational season in which he led his club to a La Liga and Champions League double.
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The 24-year-old Argentina international beat Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo and his Barcelona teammate Xavi Hernandez for the award, which was handed out at the Grimaldi forum in Monaco.
"I am honored to win this award and I want to thank my teammates. We all want to win more and all the time and this is what pushes us to continue. The cohesion of the dressing room is what gives us the strength," Messi said.
It caps off a memorable season which saw Messi score a sublime 53 goals in all competitions to help his side enjoy a flawless campaign in La Liga and the Champions League as it won the double. Messi also struck in last week's Supercopa as Barcelona added more silverware to the club's trophy room.
A panel of 53 sports journalists representing each of the UEFA member associations made their final decision ahead of the Champions League draw.
| Position | Name | Nationality | Club | |
| 1 | Lionel Messi |  ARG |  Barcelona | |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo |  POR | Real Madrid | |
| = | Xavi Hernandez | SPA | Barcelona | |
| 4 | Andres Iniesta | SPA | Barcelona | |
| 5 | Radamel Falcao |  COL | Porto/ A Madrid | |
| 6 | Wayne Rooney |  ENG | Manchester United | |
| 7 | Nemanja Vidic |  SRB | Manchester United | |
| 8 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic |  SWE |  AC Milan | |
| 9 | Gerard Pique | SPA | Barcelona | |
| 10 | Manuel Neuer |  GER | Schalke/Bayern |
