Lionel Messi has been voted the best player in world football for a seventh time, winning the prestigious Ballon d’Or award on Monday night. The Barcelona and Argentina superstar beat off competition from Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann to be crowned as 2018’s Footballer of Year by France Football magazine.
Lionel Messi has won the award for best player in world football for the seventh time. The award is given to the best player of each year, and Lionel Messi has won it six times.
Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina has won the Ballon d’Or, which is given to the greatest player of the year, for the record seventh time.
Messi, 34, helped Argentina win the Copa America for the first time, and he has 40 goals in 2021, including 28 for Barcelona, four for PSG, and eight for Argentina.
Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich and Poland came in second, Jorginho of Chelsea and Italy came in third, and Karim Benzema of Real Madrid came in fourth.
The Ballon d’Or is voted on by 180 journalists from across the globe, yet due to the coronavirus epidemic, there will be no award in 2020.
From 2008 until 2019, the award was won by either Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo (five times), with the exception of 2018, when it was won by Croatia midfielder Luka Modric.
Messi has previously won the award more times than any other player, with victories in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and now 2019.
At the event, held at Paris’s Theatre du Chatelet, he stated, “It’s fantastic to be here again.”
“I believed that was the final time two years ago. People began to inquire when I would retire, but I am presently living in Paris and am extremely content.
“With this Copa America victory, it’s a fantastic year for me.” It meant a lot to me to win [1-0 against Brazil in the final] in the Maracana stadium, and I was overjoyed to be able to celebrate with the Argentina fans.
“I’m not sure whether it was the finest year of my life – I’ve had a long career – but it was a remarkable one with Argentina winning the World Cup despite all the difficulties and criticism.”
Messi also had kind comments for the runner-up, Poland captain Robert Lewandowski, 33.
“I wanted to express my gratitude to Robert for the opportunity to compete against him,” Messi remarked. “Last year, he deserved to win.”
Lewandowski led Bayern Munich to 53 goals in all competitions in 2021, earning him the Striker of the Year title, which was only revealed hours before the presentation.
Gianluigi Donnarumma of Paris St-Germain received the Yashin Trophy for outstanding goalkeeper, while Chelsea was named Club of the Year after winning the Champions League.
Pedri, a 19-year-old Barcelona midfielder, won the Kopa Trophy for finest player under the age of 21, with England internationals Jude Bellingham, Mason Greenwood, and Bukayo Saka finishing second, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
The Premier League presently has 14 of the 30 players nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Chelsea had five players in the top 30, including third-placed Jorginho, fifth-placed N’Golo Kante, 12th-placed Romelu Lukaku, 19th-placed Mason Mount, and Cesar Azpilicueta, who tied for 29th.
Champions of the Premier League Kevin de Bruyne was seventh, Raheem Sterling 15th, Riyad Mahrez 20th, Phil Foden 25th, and Ruben Dias 26th for Manchester City.
Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United were sixth and tied for 21st, respectively, while Mohamed Salah of Liverpool was seventh and Tottenham’s Harry Kane was 23rd.
Argentina won the Copa America, and Lionel Messi was named equal best goalscorer. It was his first international honor.
Results of the Ballon d’Or
- Lionel Messi (forward, Paris Saint-Germain/Argentina)
- Forward Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland)
- Jorginho (midfielder, Chelsea/Italy)
- Karim Benzema (forward, Real Madrid/France)
- N’Golo Kante (midfielder, Chelsea/France)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Forward, Manchester United/Portugal)
- Mohamed Salah (forward, Liverpool/Egypt)
- Kevin de Bruyne (midfielder, Manchester City/Belgium)
- Forward Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain/France)
- Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris St-Germain/Italy)
- Forward Erling Braut Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Norway)
- Forward Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea/Belgium)
- Giorgio Chiellini (defender, Juventus/Italy)
- defender Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
- Forward Raheem Sterling (Manchester City/England)
- Neymar (forward, Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil)
- Luis Suarez (forward, Atletico Madrid/Uruguay)
- AC Milan/Denmark defender Simon Kjaer
- Mason Mount (midfielder, Chelsea/England)
- Riyad Mahrez (forward, Manchester City/Algeria)
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/Portugal, midfielder) and Lautauro Martinez (Inter Milan/Argentina, striker) are tied for first place.
- –
- Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane (England)
- Pedri (midfielder, Barcelona/Spain)
- Forward Phil Foden (Manchester City/England)
- Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan/Italy, midfielder), Ruben Dias (Manchester City/Portugal, defender), and Gerard Moreno (Villarreal/Spain, forward) are tied for first place alongside Ruben Dias (Manchester City/Portugal, defender) and Gerard Moreno (Villarreal/Spain, forward).
- –
- –
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia, midfielder) is tied with Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea/Spain, defender) for the most goals in the Premier League.
- –
Watch This Video-
The “who has the most ballon d’or” is a question that has been asked for years. Lionel Messi has won the award as best player in world football for 7th time.
Related Tags
- ballon d’or 2021 winners list
- how many world best has messi won
- how many world best has ronaldo won
- when did messi win his first ballon d’or
- ronaldo ballon d’or