Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time on Monday, extending his record.
“I’m very happy to be here, happy to keep fighting for new trophies,” Messi said through a translator. “I don’t know how many years I have left, but I hope many more. I’d like to thank all my (former) teammates at Barcelona and Argentina.”
Messi finished with 613 points to top Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski on 580.
Messi wins again
Messi has won two more Ballon d’Or awards than longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sixth in the voting.
It came after a stunning final season with Barcelona and his first major international trophy win with Argentina in July.
Awarded by France Football magazine, the Ballon d’Or has been given out to men every year since 1956 when Stanley Matthews won.
Messi had already won the trophy more times than any other player and his seventh success comes after wins in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019.
Congratulations Leo Messi and @alexiaputellas winners of the #BallonDor2021, congratulations also to all nominated players!👏 I won Striker of the Year Award and no Player can win an individual award without strongest team and loyal fans behind him. Thank you for your support🤜🤛 pic.twitter.com/I6j4BtluYS
— Robert Lewandowski (@lewy_official) November 29, 2021
Ballon d’Or results
- Lionel Messi (Paris St-Germain/Argentina, forward)
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland, forward)
- Jorginho (Chelsea/Italy, midfielder)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/France, forward)
- N’Golo Kante (Chelsea/France, midfielder)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal, forward)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt, forward)
- Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium, midfielder)
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain/France, forward)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris St-Germain/Italy, goalkeeper)
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Ballon d’Or: Lionel Messi wins award as best player in world football for seventh time