Living legend of world football Lionel Messi is the 2021 Ballon D’Or winner. The famous Golden Ball trophy is in Leo’s hands for the record seventh time. Messi, who left Barcelona as a free agent to sign for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, was presented with the award for best men’s footballer in the world on Monday night in Paris after another record-breaking 12 months for club and country.The former Barcelona and current PSG star led Argentina to their first Copa America success since 1993. He was named player of the tournament, scoring four goals and registering five assists. His intensity, leadership and of course technical quality, his performance in an emotional semi-final victory over Colombia was extraordinary and is widely regarded as the main factor in him getting the award.When Luis Suarez gives the #ballondor to Messi! pic.twitter.com/uUHhMgtVfR— Ballon d’Or #ballondor (@francefootball) November 29, 2021 The PSG forward was the previous winner of the award in 2019 as last year’s edition was cancelled because of Covid. Messi also won the Ballon d’Or in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, who was the favourite to win the 2020 edition of the Ballon d’Or, came second in the vote. And Messi paid a warm tribute to the Polish goal machine in his acceptance speech.”Robert, you deserve your Ballon d’Or. Last year, everyone was in agreement to say that you were the big winner of this award.”In the end, the top ten in the 2021 Ballon D’Or is as follows:1st – Lionel Messi2nd – Robert Lewandowski3rd – Jorginho4th – Karim Benzema5th – N’Golo Kante6th – Cristiano Ronaldo7th – Mohamed Salah8th – Kevin De Bruyne9th – Kylian Mbappe10th – Gianluigi DonnarummaThere was a lot of talk about the Messi – Ronaldo rivalry ahead of the ceremony. The latter had previously blasted the Ballon d’Or organiser Pascal Ferre for claiming that the Portuguese’s “only ambition” was to end his career with more wins than Messi. In the wake of Ferre’s comments, Ronaldo hit back on Instagram with an astonishing statement, branding the alleged quotes “lies” and insisting he has always championed “sportsmanship”.”Pascal Ferre lied, he used my name to promote himself and to promote the publication he works for. It is unacceptable that the person responsible for awarding such a prestigious prize could lie in this way, in absolute disrespect for someone who has always respected France Football and the Ballon d’Or.”Kwa mara ya kwanza ndani ya miaka 10, Cristiano Ronaldo amemaliza nje ya 3 bora kwenye mashindano ya #BallondOr mwaka huu Cristiano amekuwa wa 6. pic.twitter.com/qLcYcGYtcT— Mozzart Bet Kenya (@mozzartbetkenya) November 29, 2021 Ronaldo didn’t hold back in setting the record straight about his ambitions in football.”The biggest ambition of my career is to win national and international titles for the clubs I represent and for the national team in my country. The biggest ambition of my career is to be a good example for all those who are or want to be professional footballers.”OTHER AWARDSBarcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas has become the third lady to win the Women’s Ballon d’Or. The 27-year-old captained her club to the Champions League title last season. She was recently named UEFA Player of the Year.Barcelona wonderkid Pedri won the Kopa Trophy, which is the award for best player under the age of 21. The 19-year-old Spaniard is already a first-team regular for both club and country. He’s also recently won the Golden Boy. England midfielder Jude Bellingham came second, followed by Jamal Musiala, Mason Greenwood and Bukayo Saka.As expected, Robert Lewandowski was won the newly-introduced “Striker of the Year” award. It’s hardly a surprise. The man scored 41 goals in 29 Bundesliga appearances last season, for crying out loud. And he’s already notched another 14 strikes in 13 games this season. He’s unreal – and he accepted his award with style despite missing out on the main award of the night.”I came here to have fun. I am not surprised, there are no surprises – My approach to it is that I did everything I could. Awards are fun, but the most important trophies are the ones you win with the team.”For all the goals and all the trophies—2020 will always be Robert Lewandowski’s year 👏 pic.twitter.com/HiHf71ECTk— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 29, 2021 Gianluigi Donnarumma is recognized as the world’s best goalkeeper with the 2021 Yashin Trophy ahead of Edouard Mendy, Jan Oblak, Ederson and Manuel Neuer.Another new award – Club of the Year goes to Chelsea Football Club!
