Argentine Lionel Messi beat Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo to win the best FIFA player of the year award for a record sixth time.

The 22 year old football star Lionel Messi was born in a poor family in Argentine and now widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical treatment.

He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and six Copas del Rey.

A prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (419), a La Liga and European league season (50), most hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (169) and the Copa América (12).

He has scored 698 senior career goals for club and country.

In August this year, South American Football Association banned Lionel Messi from playing international football for three months.

The ban was imposed after Messi called Copa America corrupt. A fine of $50,000 has also been imposed on Messi.

Messi can appeal against the fine and ban within one week. Although Messi cannot feature in Argentina’s upcoming fixtures against Chile, Mexico and Germany.