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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi has been announced as the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or 2021. Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho finished in second and third place respectively.
France Football has also revealed the names of the players ranked from 1-30 in this year's Ballon d'Or. The complete ranks of all 30 players in the 2021 Ballon d'Or are:
29: Cesar Azpilicueta
29: Luka Modric
26: Nicolo Barella
26: Ruben Dias
26: Gerard Moreno
25: Phil Foden
24: Pedri
23: Harry Kane
21: Bruno Fernandes
21: Lautaro Martinez
20: Riyad Mahrez
19: Mason Mount
18: Simon Kjaer
17: Luis Súarez
16: Neymar
15: Raheem Sterling
14: Leonardo Bonucci
13: Giorgio Chiellini
12: Romelu Lukaku
11: Erling Haaland
10: Gianluigi Donnarumma
09: Kylian Mbappe
08: Kevin de Bruyne
07: Mohamed Salah
06: Cristiano Ronaldo
05: N'Golo Kante
04: Karim Benzema
03: Jorginho
02: Robert Lewandowski
01: Lionel Messi
Robert Lewandowski could consider himself unlucky to have not won the Ballon d'Or award this year. Many believe he deserved to win the accolade this time around considering his performances over the last year and this.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished sixth in the rankings, will be gutted to see arch-rival Lionel Messi win his seventh Ballon d'Or award. The 34-year-old now has two Ballon d'Or awards more than the Portugal international.
Italy and Paris Saint-Germain star Gianluigi Donnarumma is the only goalkeeper in the top 30 in the Ballon d'Or rankings this year. Champions League finalists Chelsea and Manchester City had five players each in the top 30 in the Ballon d'Or standings.
Although Manchester City had five players in the top 30, the inclusion of Raheem Sterling at 15 and Ruben Dias at 26 is surprising. Denmark and AC Milan defender Simon Kjaer is another player not many expected to be on the elite list.
Lionel Messi tips hat to Robert Lewandowski following Ballon d'Or win
France Football announced Lionel Messi as the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or. However, many believe Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski deserved to win the award.
The Poland international was one of the favorites to win the Ballon d'Or last year. France Football, though, decided against handing out the trophy. The ceremony was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many fans were keen to see Robert Lewandowski be given the award this round.
Lionel Messi is among those who think Lewandowski is unlucky to have not won the Ballon d'Or. In his winning speech, Messi said:
“Robert, you deserve your Ballon D'Or. Last year, everyone was in agreement to say that you were the big winner of this award.”
