Ranking Lionel Messi's 6 Ballon d'Or winning campaigns 

#3 Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or 2009 win

Lionel Messi won his first Ballon d'Or award after winning a historic treble with Barcelona.

After going two years without major silverware, Barcelona were back to their absolute best under Pep Guardiola, as they won their first-ever treble of La Liga, Copa Del Rey and Champions League in 2009.

It goes without saying that Lionel Messi played a starring role in all three campaigns, forging a deadly strike partnership with Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry. The Blaugrana ran amok, winning three more titles in the second half of the year to complete a historic sextuple.

#OnThisDay in 2009 Samuel Eto'o & Lionel Messi scored in Rome as @FCBarcelona won their first ever treble #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/spC3KFQPHI

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 27, 2015

That was the year Lionel Messi well and truly came of age, propelling himself into the bracket of the world's best players.

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#2 Ballon d'Or 2011

Lionel Messi was back to his best in 2011, winning five titles.

Just two years later, after their historic continental treble, Barcelona were on course for another treble. Even though Real Madrid denied them a piece of history by snatching the league cup at the death, Guardiola's juggernaut romped to every other title available, including a La Liga and Champions League double.

Lionel Messi was once again at the forefront, ripping teams apart with his blistering scoring exploits, which yielded goals in the Champions League, UEFA Supercup, Spanish Supercup,and the Club World Cup final.

📆 #OnThisDay May 28, 2011Messi and Barcelona mastered Man Utd in the #UCL final 🤩🤩pic.twitter.com/ZwqHeKsFxq

— Goal (@goal) May 28, 2019

His performances with the Albiceleste in that summer's Copa America left a lot to be desired, as Lionel Messi and co. were knocked out in the quarter-final. But it was the only sore note in an otherwise stellar year for the Blaugrana hitman.

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#1 Ballon d'Or 2015

Lionel Messi, alongside Neymar (right) and Luis Suarez (right), guided Barcelona to a second continental treble in 2015.

Barcelona's historic second continental treble in the 2014-15 season was statistically their best, as almost every key player in the squad was in peak form, including, of course, Lionel Messi.

Now with Neymar and Luis Suarez alongside him, the goal-scoring burden was shared. But that didn't stop Lionel Messi from netting 53 times in all competitions and creating plenty more.

Lionel Messi has already won 4 #BallondOr awards - here are his stats for 2015 pic.twitter.com/mdXoPCRP2q

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) January 11, 2016

Following a difficult year for him as well as the club, Messi and co. re-established themselves as Europe's best, with La Pulga at the forefront