'Will Tell My Kids This Man Invented Football': Twitter in Awe of Lionel Messi After Record 6th Ballon d'Or

Lionel Messi won a record sixth Ballon d'Or on Tuesday to surpass his and Cristiano Ronaldo's joint-highest of five. Messi received the Ballon d'Or previously in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015.

While Messi bagged the top honour, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk finished second while Messi's biggest rival Ronaldo came third.

"I hope to continue for a long time," Messi said on Monday in Paris from behind a row of the trophies which honor the world's best soccer player.

"I realize that I am very lucky, even if, one day, retirement will come. It will be difficult. But I still have a lot of good years ahead of me. Time goes by very quickly, so I want to enjoy football and my family.

"A few years ago, I received my first Ballon d'Or here in Paris," Messi said. "I was 22 years old. It was something unthinkable at the time. Today is my sixth Ballon d'Or. As my wife used to say, you should never stop dreaming but always work to improve and continue to enjoy yourself."

Social media was abuzz after Messi's victory and tributes flew in for the FC Barcelona maestro.

Messi's former teammate Luis Garcia posted a picture of his with Messi and congratulated the Argentine for continuing "making history".

While Garcia shared his old memory, Messi fans were in absolute awe of the Barcelona man and hailed him as the greatest footballer of all time. There was an even a reaction clip of Messi's son Mateo that went viral.

With Messi surpassing Ronaldo, social media did not spare the Portuguese and there were a couple of memes on Ronaldo, mocking him for being left behind.