Argentina super star Lionel Messi has been named the winner of the 2021 men’s Ballon d’Or for a 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.
He saw off competition from Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho.
Messi, who wore a sparkly dinner jacket at the ceremony in Paris, collected the honour for a record sixth time in 2019 – one ahead of great rival Cristiano Ronaldo – before the awards were cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Poland international Lewandowski, 33, who was widely expected to win last year, finished second after scoring 38 goals in 30 league games for Bayern in 2021.
Meanwhile, Jorginho finished third after a standout year in which he helped Italy to glory at the delayed Euro 2020 after lifting the Champions League trophy with Chelsea in May.
Balon Do’r Men’s Rankings
1) Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain & Barcelona)
2) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich & Poland)
3) Jorginho (Chelsea & Italy)
4) Karim Benzema (Real Madrid & France)
5) N’Golo Kante (Chelsea & France)
6) Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United & Portugal)
7) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
8) Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium)
9) Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain & France)
10) Gianluigi Donarumma (Paris Saint-Germain & Italy)
11) Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund & Norway)
12) Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea & Belgium)
13) Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus & Italy)
14) Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus & Italy)
15 ) Raheem Sterling (Manchester City & England)
16) Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil)
17) Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid & Uruguay)
18) Simon Kjaer (AC Milan & Denmark)
19) Mason Mount (Chelsea & England)
20) Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City & Algeria)
=21) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United & Portugal)
=21)Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan & Argentina)
23) Harry Kane (Tottenham & England)
24) Pedri (Barcelona & Spain)
25) Phil Foden (Manchester City & England)
=26) Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan & Italy)
=26) Ruben Dias (Manchester City & Portugal)
=26) Gerard Moreno (Villarreal & Spain)
=29) Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea & Spain)
=29) Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)
