Lionel Messi will receive the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time in his career on November 29, Portugal reports RTP. The national TV and radio station has found out that the 34-year-old superstar of Paris Saint-Germain has already been informed about the win of the trophy.
It is customary for the winner of the Ballon d’Or to give an exclusive interview to France Football, the magazine that presents the award for the best footballer in the world. According to RTP Messi has already given this interview to the French magazine. If the information is correct, the Argentinian will take the most prestigious individual club prize for the seventh time. Messi also won the Ballon d’Or in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019. The prize was not awarded in 2020 due to the corona crisis.
Messi was initially favorite for the win at the bookmakers, but has since been overtaken by Robert Lewandowski. Messi is currently paid an average of 2.50 times the stake, while Lewandowski is currently around 1.40. This means that the duo is now far removed from the rest of the competition: Mohamed Salah (16), Jorginho (20), Cristiano Ronaldo (20) and Karim Benzema (25) can almost forget the win, according to the betting offices.
The winner of the Ballon d’Or is determined by a vote. Now that organizer France Football has put together a shortlist of thirty players, a selection of journalists – one from each FIFA football country – determines the winner together with the national coaches and captains of national teams. The journalists, players and national coaches are asked to choose a top five from the thirty names of the shortlist, based on a person’s individual and collective performance in the past year, quality of the player and taking into account the player’s career. The number one panelist receives six points, the number two five points, and so on. Finally, an overall ranking will follow.
Messi was killed a month ago France Football asked about the other favourites. “I’m always afraid to forget someone if something like that is asked,” said the attacker. “There are at least two players in my team that I would easily vote for: Ney and Kylian. Robert Lewandowski had a great year. And Karim Benzema was also excellent. We also know that big trophies are important. The Champions League, the European Championship and the Copa América play a part in the mood.”