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Lionel Messi has beaten Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho to the Ballon d'Or 2021 award. The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar finished above the Bayern Munich striker and Chelsea midfielder to bag the accolade for the seventh time.
Many were hoping to see Lewandowski win the Men's Ballon d'Or this year. But France Football deemed Messi worthy of the award. Jorginho stood third on the podium after helping Chelsea and Italy win the Champions League and European Championship respectively.
Real Madrid talisman Karim Benzema finished fourth in the race for the Ballon d'Or on the back of an impressive 2020-21 campaign. Jorginho's Chelsea team-mate N'Golo Kante came fifth. Meanwhile the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe missed out on the top five spots.
This year's Women's Ballon d'Or was awarded to Barcelona superstar Alexia Putellas. Putellas' Blaugrana team-mate Jennifer Hermoso finished just behind her. Chelsea forward Sam Kerr came third on the podium.
Champions League winners Chelsea won the 'Club of the Year' award. Both the men's and women's teams of the Blues had a successful year, thanks to the efforts of Thomas Tuchel and Emma Hayes.
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma bagged the Lev Yashin award following his heroics with Italy in their European Championship winning run. Chelsea's Edouard Mendy could only manage a second-place finish, while Atletico Madrid custodian Jan Oblak came third.
Although Lewandowski missed out on the Ballon d'Or, he won the newly announced 'Striker of the Year' award. The 33-year-old deservingly bagged the award after breaking Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga goalscoring record, having netted 41 goals last term.
Barcelona midfielder Pedri was named the winner of the Kopa Trophy, an award handed to the best performing player under the age of 21. Borussia Dortmund teenager Jude Bellingham finished second, while Bayern Munich attacker Jamal Musiala came third.
Lionel Messi bags seventh Ballon d'Or
PSG superstar Lionel Messi won his seventh Ballon d'Or award in Paris today.
Lionel Messi scored 38 goals and provided 14 assists from 47 appearances across all competitions in what was his last season at Barcelona. The talisman has contributed seven goals in 11 matches for new club PSG across all competitions so far this campaign.
However, many would say that Lionel Messi's biggest achievement over the course of the year was leading Argentina to the Copa America in the summer. The former Barcelona superstar added to his legacy by winning his first major trophy with his country.
Apart from the Copa America, Lionel Messi also won the Copa del Rey with Barcelona. It is hard to deny that he is deserving of the Ballon d'Or award.
