LIONEL MESSI became the newest member of an elite footballing club following his World Cup victory.
The Argentine captain helped his side to their third World Cup after beating France in the final.
In doing so, Messi has now completed his trophy cabinet, which also includes multiple Champions League and Ballon d’Or awards.
Only eight other players in history have managed to lift the Champions League, Ballon d’Or and World Cup.
Here, we take a look at the exclusive club…
1. Sir Bobby Charlton
The first player to complete the trio was England’s Sir Bobby Charlton.
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The attacking midfielder won the World Cup and Ballon d’Or in 1966 before winning the Champions League with Manchester United in 1968.
2. Gerd Muller
The second footballing legend to join the club was German forward Gerd Muller.
The prolific goalscorer won the Ballon d’Or in 1970. He then went on to win the World Cup and his first Champions League title in 1974.
Muller went on to win the Champions League in both of the next two seasons in 1975 and 1976, with Bayern Munich.
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3. Franz Beckenbauer
The German defender completed the hat-trick of awards in 1974, the year that he won his first Champions League and World Cup titles.
He had already his first Ballon d’Or in 1972. Beckenbauer then went on to win two more Champions Leagues in 1975 and 1976, as well as another Ballon d’Or in 1976.
4. Paolo Rossi
The Italian starred for his side in the 1982 World Cup, scoring six goals on the way to the trophy.
He also won the Ballon d’Or that year and then completed the trio in 1985 when he won the Champions League with Juventus.
5. Zinedine Zidane
The brilliant French midfielder became the fifth player to complete the hat-trick of awards.
In 1998, Zinedine Zidane won the World Cup and Ballon d’Or before going on to win the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2002.
He also went on to win the club trophy with Los Blancos as manager on three times in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
6. Rivaldo
Rivaldo was one of the vital players in Brazil’s World Cup win in 2002 in the tournament in Japan and South Korea.
He had already won the Ballon d’Or in 1999 after a brilliant season with Barcelona.
The midfielder then won the Champions League with AC Milan in 2003.
7. Ronaldinho
The skilful Brazilian attacker also won the World Cup alongside Rivaldo in 2002.
He collected the other two awards later in his career. Ronaldinho won his Ballon d’Or in 2005, a year before completing the feat with his Champions League victory in 2006.
8. Kaka
Kaka also won the World Cup with Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, but it was not until 2007 that he hit his peak.
The attacking midfielder won both the Champions League and Ballon d’Or when he was at AC Milan.
9. Lionel Messi
Messi becomes the latest member of the club after winning the World Cup in Qatar.
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He already boasted an incredible SEVEN Ballon d’Or triumphs.
And he won the Champions League four times during his years at Barcelona.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
