Ballon d’Or 2021, winner: Lionel Messi wins for the seventh time – consolation prize for Robert Lewandowski

Ballon d’Or 2021, winner: Lionel Messi wins for the seventh time – consolation prize for Robert Lewandowski

Record winner Lionel Messi has won the prestigious Ballon d’Or for the seventh time and thus outdone a prominent group of competitors. The Argentine, who has been playing for Paris Saint-Germain since the summer, received the from the specialist magazine France Football organized the election, relegating Robert Lewandowski from FC Bayern Munich to second place.

However, the Pole was left with a “consolation prize”. Because for the first time a new award for the best goalscorer was given at this year’s event. Lewandowski secured this for himself.

Messi continues to expand record status

Messi, meanwhile, continued to build his status as the record winner of the Ballon d’Or. With seven trophies now, the 34-year-old has two more than his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese took sixth place in the election this year. So far the last winner from the Bundesliga was Matthias Sammer in 1996, at that time the award was synonymous with the title of European Footballer of the Year. All players worldwide can now be considered for the Ballon d’Or.

Messi had previously triumphed from 2009 to 2012 and 2015 and 2019. This year Messi completed his international career and won the long-awaited first big title with the Argentine national team at the Copa America in the summer. He was also the top scorer in the Spanish league at FC Barcelona. With the Catalans he also won the Spanish Cup, in the championship and in the Champions League, however, the hoped-for successes failed to materialize.

Between 2010 and 2015, the Ballon d’Or was awarded jointly with FIFA as the official award for the world footballer, and since then two separate votes have taken place again. At the Ballon d’Or, an expert jury made up of international journalists is entitled to vote. These awarded points to five players using the key 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1. In the end, Messi was able to collect the most points.

Goal