Leo Messi – Audemars Piguet ambassador – is the world’s best football player 2012

A winner of the prestigious award for the fourth consecutive year, Messi broke the record he jointly held with Michel Platini, Marco Van Basten and Johan Cruyff, who were each awarded three times.

Messi scored an all-time high 91 goals in 69 games in 2012, 79 for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina. He also scored twice in eight successive games and they were almost all goals of barely plausible brilliance. Upon receiving the trophy, Leo said “to tell you the truth this is really quite unbelievable, the fourth award that I have had is just too great for words”.

Honouring a true legend and a great sportsman of our time, Audemars Piguet launched in 2012 the Royal Oak Chronograph Leo Messi Limited Edition in steel, pink gold and platinum versions and will auction the N°10 watch of the platinum edition in Spring 2013. All sale proceedings will go to the Leo Messi Foundation aimed to help deprived children around the world. The timepiece will also be accompanied by a signed football jersey bearing Messi’s N°10.

Recognised for his mastery and artistry, Leo Messi’s outstanding and break-through performances embody Audemars Piguet’s philosophy, “To break the rules, you must first master them”.

Audemars Piguet is the last fine watchmaking manufacturer still in the hands of its founding families (Audemars and Piguet). Since 1875, the company has written some of the finest chapters in the history of Haute Horlogerie, including a number of world firsts. In the Vallée de Joux, at the heart of the Swiss Jura, numerous masterpieces are created in limited series embodying a remarkable degree of horological perfection, including daring sporty models, classic and traditional timepieces, splendid ladies’ jewellery-watches, as well as one-of-a-kind creations.