Lionel Messi Crowned 2021 Ballon d'Or Winner Ahead of Lewandowski, Ronaldo

Lionel Messi Crowned 2021 Ballon d'Or Winner Ahead of Lewandowski, Ronaldo

Fred Kennedy
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:52 PM
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  • Lionel Messi has now won the Ballon d'Or for a record seven times after he was crowned the winner in the 2021 edition
  • The Paris Saint-Germain star last won the individual prize in 2019 but was not in contention in 2020 as the award was cancelled due to the effects of Covid
  • He picked the 2021 award after beating a number of top players who had earlier been touted as clear favourites

Lionel Messi has been crowned the winner of the 2021 Ballon d'Or award.

Lionel Messi poses with his Ballon d'Or awards. Photo: Getty Images.
Messi had a terrific 2020/21 that also saw him lift a major title for the first time in his international career. Photo: Getty Images.
Source: Getty Images

The Paris Saint-Germain beat a host of top footballers including Bayern Munich ace Robert Lewandowski and rival Cristiano Ronaldo to win the prize for a record seventh time.

Messi won the award despite a mixed 2020/21 season at club level where Barcelona finished third on the La Liga standings.

However, the club did end the season with silverware as they won the Copa del Rey title.

Individually, Messi enjoyed a terrific year as he netted a mouthwatering 30 league goals in the domestic scene.

At the international level, the forward finally managed to win a major title with the national team as they lifted the coveted Copa America trophy.

The Barca legend was influential in Argentina's journey to glory as he netted four times and bagged four assists to lift the title.

Meanwhile, Lewandowski, who was a strong favourite for the award finished second in the power rankings as he carted home the best striker award.

Chelsea's Jorginho was placed third, with Karim Benzema, and N'Golo Kante completing the top five podium.

Ronaldo, who was won the individual prize five times could only manage a sixth-place finish ahead of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Kevin de Bruyne who finished seventh and eighth respectively.

Ronaldo slams Ballon chief

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday, November 29 released a scathing statement calling out France Football editor-in-chief Pascal Ferre.

With the Ballon d’Or ceremony underway, attention was temporarily shifted to Cristiano, who was a notable absentee from the event.

The 36-year old took to his social media to call out Pascal Ferre for allegedly distorting some information told to him by the Portugal superstar in confidence.

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Fred Kennedy
Fred Kennedy has a Bachelor's degree in journalism (Daystar University), currently working as a Sports Editor. He has more than five years of experience in digital journalism.
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