This Monday, the franc fell. And he rather surprised: Leo Messi lifted his seventh Golden Ball of his career. The second in a row given the lack of delivery of the trophy last year. A trophy which, according to statements from the Pulga, would have been logically awarded to the Bayern machine in 2020.
Arrived this summer in Paris, the Argentinian is obviously on the front page of the Team. The headline newspaper “Game, 7 and matches”. In his Edito, Vincent Duluc, famous journalist for the sports daily still poses a problem on the table: “The question that must be asked, because it prolongs the debates of recent months, and because we owe it to the very spirit of the distinction created in 1956, consists in knowing whether the world voted for the Argentinian out of habit or as a reward for merit superior to the competition. ” In another paper, L’Equipe also admits that “Blues Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé and N’Golo Kanté hoped for better”.
As astonishing as it may seem, Leo Messi does not make the front page of the Gazzetta dello Sport. Not even to congratulate Jorginho, third in the standings and who won almost everything in 2021 with the C1 and the European Cup. They prefer to highlight the ordeal experienced at Juventus this season and the financial problems of the Old Lady. In its pages, the Italians have kept it simple: “It ends as planned, unsurprisingly. Leo Messi triumphs, for the seventh time, with two trophies ahead of his rival Cristiano Ronaldo, only sixth.”
For Marca, “Messi ascends to seventh heaven”. In its first page, the former number 10 of Barça throne with an infographic and his seven Golden Ball. While not forgetting Alexia Putellas, the Barça player who won the women’s category.
Their competitor AS believes that Messi is “the son of Oro”. A reference to Diego Armando Maradona, who disappeared a year ago. But the daily also puts Alexia Putellas in the spotlight. “The PSG Argentinian has won her seventh Ballon d’Or and the Barca midfielder is the third woman in the world to win it”, underlines the newspaper of the Spanish capital. “There will hardly be a legacy like the one Leo Messi leaves behind when he retires. Difficult, if not impossible,” adds AS.
Obviously, for Catalonia, this Ballon d’Or 2021 bears the seal of the region. “History. Alexia Putellas’ first Ballon d’Or and Leo Messi’s seventh. And as if that weren’t enough, Pedri González won the Kopa trophy for the world’s best Under-21 footballer. A party in Paris with the scent of Barcelona. It doesn’t matter how much the Argentine genius has been wearing the PSG jersey since August “, estimates the daily close to FC Barcelona.
Same story for Sport, “Ballon d’or Blaugrana” headlines the newspaper also from Catalonia. “It wasn’t the 2010 Blaugrana treble. In which Messi, Xavi and Iniesta were first and the person responsible for naming the winner was Pep Guardiola. But this ceremony will also go down in history for crowning, for the first once a woman from FC Barcelona: Alexia Putellas. A great captain. “
In Germany, it’s grimace soup. Di Welt announces a “surprising victory for Messi and a disappointment for Lewandowski”. The daily adds “Messi has had a relatively weak year at club level. Unlike Robert Lewandowski.” According to Sky Sports Germany, the Pole was legitimately disappointed. “Robert Lewandowski applauded politely. But the enormous disappointment of the exceptional 33-year-old striker at the ‘Théâtre du Chatelet’ in Paris was clearly noticeable.”
The most virulent reaction is certainly that of Bild. On its website, the media considers that this choice is “scandalous”. Media show host Carli Underberg added that the election was even “ridiculous”.
