Argentine captain Lionel Messi has emerged the winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or award, claiming a record seventh title.
Messi, who left Barcelona as a free agent last summer to sign for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, was presented with the award on Monday night in Paris after another record-breaking 12 months for club and country.
Lionel Messi was the previous winner of the award in 2019 as last year’s edition was cancelled because of Covid-19. Messi also won the Ballon d’Or in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.
The Argentine captain beat Bayern Munich Polish striker Robert Lewandowski who was the favourite to win the 2020 edition of the Ballon d’Or.
Jorginho came third having won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea and UEFA Euro 2020 with Italy as Real Madrid and France’s Karim Benzema came fourth while N’Golo Kante was in fifth place.
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo finished sixth, with Mohamed Salah, Kevin de Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe and Gianluigi Donnarumma occupying seventh, eight, ninth and tenth respectively.
Lewandowski was crowned Striker of the Year for his incredible scoring feats while Chelsea took the other new title of Best Club after their Champions League triumph.
Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas received the Ballon d’Or award in the women’s category with Barca starlet Pedri going home with the Kopa trophy for the best U-21 player.
And Donnarumma took the Yashin award for best goalkeeper after winning UEFA Euro 2020 with Italy before leaving AC Milan.
2021 Ballon d’Or award results:
Ballon d’Or (best male player in the world): Lionel Messi
Ballon d’Or Féminin (best female player in the world): Alexia Putellas
Team of the year: Chelsea
Striker of the year: Robert Lewandowski
Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper in the world): Gianluigi Donnarumma
Kopa Trophy (best player in the world under the age of 21): Pedri
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