FIFA President Sepp Blatter has admitted that Lionel Messi is clearly 'the best in the world' at the moment.

The Barcelona record-breaker was given the Ballon d'Or award for the fourth straight time earlier this month.

And the governing body's chief has conceded that the Argentine forward is the greatest footballer on the planet, but also commended the two runners-up – Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta.

“Today, Lionel Messi is the best player in the world,” he told fifa.com. “And therefore we are very proud of those who voted for him so decisively.

“However, I think in future we should hand out three medals for the final three candidates.

“I think it is unfair that two of them went home empty-handed.”

Tags Blatter Iniesta Messi Ronaldo
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