The Argentine star defeated the other finalists, his Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the award a year ago, after a live vote of journalists.
The four-time FIFA world player of the year scored 58 goals in all competitions while leading Barcelona to titles in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Ronaldo scored 61 goals, but Real Madrid failed to win any major trophies.
Suarez, who scored the decisive second goal in the 3-1 final win over Juventus, reached the shortlist despite starting his season in late-October. The Uruguay forward served a FIFA ban for biting at the 2014 World Cup.
Messi's contribution to Barca's Champions League-winning campaign was recognised, with Messi having finished as joint top-scorer in the competition with 10 goals -- alongside Ronaldo and a third Barca attacker in Neymar.
Earlier in the day, Messi's solo goal against Bayern Munich in last year's Champions League semifinal first leg was voted last year's competition's best goal by users on UEFA's website, winning with 39 percent of the vote.
Frankfurt forward Celia Sasic won the UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe award. Sasic, who led the Women's Champions League in scoring last season and recently retired, beat Dzsenifer Marozsan and Amandine Henry to land the award.
Source: ESPN
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