Michel Platini backs Lionel Messi to beat his recordNovember 16, 2011 - 12:37 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - UEFA president Michel Platini believes that Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi will win the Ballon d'Or award for the third consecutive year. The Argentinian was named on the 23-man shortlist earlier November and is currently the favorite to be awarded the trophy. Platini is the only player to have won the Ballon d'Or three straight years but he has no doubt that Messi will equal his achievement. "I believe that Messi will win his third Ballon d'Or in a row, I know that records are meant to be broken and I also believe he will overtake me. I arrived at Juve at the age of 27, while Messi arrived at Barca when he was 13. Times have changed. If I had grown at Juventus, I would have won even more awards, but my grandparents moved to France and I cannot appeal to any court against this," Platini told reporters. The winner will be announced in early January, 2012, Sportsmole reported. Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. India wants Armenia’s proposals on use of Chabahar port India is expecting proposals from Armenia regarding the use of Chabahar port in Iran, Indian ambassador says. EU welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan “progress” The EU has welcomed “progress” made in the framework of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation process. Belarus opposition leader slams Lukashenko for Karabakh trip Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has harshly criticized the visit of Lukashenko to Karabakh. |