Barcelona star Lionel Messi admits there was envy seeing Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo win his fifth Ballon d'Or two years ago.

Messi made the admission after winning his sixth Ballon d'Or on Monday.

"On one hand, I liked having five and being the only one who did," the Barcelona captain explained in an interview with France Football, the organiser of the award.

"When Cristiano Ronaldo pulled level with me, I'll admit that it hurt a little as I was no longer alone at the top.

"But, at that moment he deserved the Ballon d'Or and I couldn't do much more about it.

"I understand why I didn't win, as we hadn't won the Champions League and winning that competition gives you a better chance of winning the Ballon d'Or.

"When Cristiano Ronaldo was winning all the [individual] trophies it was because he'd had really good seasons and had been winning the Champions League, being decisive as his team did so."