On the evening of November 29th, the Ballon d’Or 2021 awards ceremony was held at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Last year, France Football magazine turned down the award because of the coronavirus pandemic, so fans around the world have had time to miss it.
Furthermore, France Football was tight-lipped about the intrigue this year: even analysts at betting company 1BET (see their review at https://bookmaker-ratings.com/review/1bet-review/) were unsure who would win the Ballon d’Or, with Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi as both being favourites.
The main intrigue was decided in favour of Messi, to the disappointment of the thousands of fans who were certain Lewandowski would win the trophy this year. The Argentine won his 7th Ballon d’Or: it is the best result in history, unlikely to be conquered by anyone else. Messi’s longstanding rival Cristiano Ronaldo took sixth place in the vote: the Portuguese finished outside the top 5 for the first time since 2010.
Barcelona and Spain 19 y/o midfielder Pedri was named the world’s best under-21 footballer.
France Football predictably voted Lewandowski the best striker of the year 2021. The French magazine has awarded such a prize for the first time. As it turned out later, it was a consolation for Robert.
Alexia Putellas, who plays for Barcelona and Spain in the attacking midfield position, was awarded the Women’s Ballon d’Or.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Italian national team and Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper, won the Lev Yashin Award for being the best goalkeeper.
The list of the best players of the year according to France Football looks as follows:
- Lionel Messi (Barcelona / PSG) – 613 points in the voting
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern) – 580 points
- Jorginho (Chelsea) – 460 points
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – 239
- N’Golo Kante (Chelsea) – 186
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Manchester United) – 178
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 121
- Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) – 73
- Kylian Mbappe (PSG) – 58
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan/PSG) – 36
- Erling Haaland (Borussia D)
- Romelu Lukaku (Inter/Chelsea)
- Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
- Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
- Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
- Neymar (PSG)
- Luis Suarez (Atletico)
- Simon Kjaer (Milan)
- Mason Mount (Chelsea)
- Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
- 21-22. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
- 21-22. Lautaro Martinez (Inter)
- Harry Kane (Tottenham) 24.
- Pedri (Barcelona) 25.
- Phil Foden (Manchester City) 26.
- 26-28. Nicolo Barella (Inter) 26-28.
- 26-28. Ruben Dias (Manchester City) 26-28
- 26-28. Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
- 29-30. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
- 29-30. César Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Messi took the award in a year when he won only the Spanish Cup with Barcelona (and left it), but added his first major title with the national team, helping them win America’s Cup in the summer.
For the second time in his career, Messi has consecutive Ballon d’Or’s: Leo won four without a break from 2009 to 2012, then took one in 2015, now he has awards for 2019 and 2021. No one was awarded in 2020 when the pandemic arrived.
That’s what the Argentine won the 2021 Player of the Year award for:
- 56 matches
- 41 goals
- 17 assists
- Spanish Cup winner
- Americas Cup Winner
- Spain Cup Final Player of the Year
- Best Player of the La Liga
- Copa America Top Scorer
- Copa America Most Assists
- Copa America Player of the Tournament