Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time in his career, it was revealed at Monday night’s ceremony. The 34-year-old attacker is mainly rewarded with the win of the Ballon d’Or for his performance with Argentina. Last summer, after three lost finals in the form of the Copa América, he finally won his first major prize with la Albiceleste. Messi is preferred over competitors such as Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, Karim Benzema and Jorginho. Lewandowski did take home the title Striker of the Year, which was suddenly introduced this year.
With seven Ballon d’Or elections, Messi holds the record; Cristiano Ronaldo has won the trophy five times. The Paris Saint-Germain attacker has lived up to his favorite status, as the bookmakers also said he was the biggest contender to win the Ballon d’Or on Monday evening. Messi has this calendar year in the shirt of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina good for 41 goals and 17 assists in 56 games. He scored 23 goals for the Catalans in 21 league games. He scored twice in the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Club (0-4 win). In the Champions League, the Argentinian was accurate twice in the eighth finals against his later employer PSG. He also scored 9 goals in 16 caps for Argentina, including four goals in the Copa América.
Last year the Ballon d’Or was not awarded after a season that was seriously disrupted by the corona pandemic. During the last edition, in 2019, the Ballon d’Or also went to Messi. The Argentinian won the Spanish Cup with Barcelona this calendar year and led his country to a win in the Copa América. However, he is not yet able to convince in the PSG shirt. On November 20, Messi scored his long-awaited first goal in Ligue 1 in a 3-1 win over Nantes. For now, the counter in the shirt of the French superpower stands at four goals and three assists in eleven official games.
The winner of the Ballon d’Or was determined by a vote. After organizer France Football compiled a shortlist of thirty players, a selection of journalists – one from each FIFA football country – decided the winner together with the national coaches and captains of national teams. The journalists, players and national coaches were asked to select a top five from the thirty names on the shortlist, based on a person’s individual and collective performance over 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. In the end, an overall ranking followed.
Ballon d’Or Feminino
The Ballon d’Or Féminin for the best female football player in the world in 2021 went to Alèxia Putellas. The Barcelona attacking midfielder was also the favorite for the win. The Dutch women Lieke Martens and Vivianne Miedema were also among the contenders. Miedema was called by the on Monday morning BBC was voted the best football player in the world. The Arsenal striker was presented with the award in training by former Arsenal striker and club legend Kelly Smith.