Lionel Messi has been crowned the world's best footballer for the fifth time in seven years at FIFA's Ballon d'Or award ceremony in Zurich.

Here Press Association Sport lists five things you may not have known about the record-breaking Barcelona and Argentina playmaker.

1. Nickname Messi's nickname is 'La Pulga' or 'La Pulga Atomica', which translates as The Flea/Atomic Flea, a fitting moniker for a player who measures just 5ft 7in in height and who has proved an almost constant pest to every opposing defence he has come up against.

2. Growing up Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) when he was 11 and underwent an expensive three-year long daily treatment of injections to help him grow.

3. Newell's Old Boys Rosario-born Messi started out with his home-town club Newell's before moving to Barcelona at the age of 13. Messi has said in the past that he would like to return to Newell's before the end of his career.

4. Argentina debut Messi was sent off barely a minute into his senior Argentina debut after appearing as a second-half substitute against Hungary in 2005. An 18-year-old Messi was shown a straight red for appearing to catch an opponent in the face with a flailing arm after having his shirt pulled back during his side's 2-1 win.

5. Tattoos Messi has numerous tattoos, including a rose window inspired by Barcelona's famous Sagrada Familia church on his right arm, as well as his mother's face on his shoulder blade and the hand prints of his first child Thiago on his calf among others.