Messi wins 2021 Ballon d'Or!

Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or once again. The Argentinian footballer, who now plays for PSG, has won the award for the seventh time in his career seeing off 29 other candidates. Messi was among the favourites to win it together with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski while Cristiano Ronaldo was once again in the mix. 

This was the first Ballon d'Or ceremony for two years as last year's edition was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. 34 year-old Messi netted 38 goals in all competitions in his final league season at Barca before moving to PSG in the summer as Barca were unable to renew his contract. Messi left the club against his will and he has got four goals in his 10 appearances for the French side so far.

In fact, he ended up being the top scorer in La Liga last season with 30 goals, seven ahead of nearest challengers Karim Benzema and Gerard Moreno while he came joint fifth of the top assists chart with nine. Messi also netted twice in the Copa del Rey final victory over Athletic Bilbao back in April. That proved to be the last trophy he won at the Catalan giants.

As well as shining for his club, Messi has had some terrific performances for his country this year. He netted a hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Bolivia in World Cup qualifying in the summer while he scored one and assisted two in the 3-0 victory over Ecuador at the Copa America, a competition which Argentina won. That was the first time Lionel Messi had won a trophy with his country. As well as that, Argentina have already booked their place at the 2022 World Cup so the Argentine has another chance to win the World Cup for the first time.

The award was given based on a combination of voting by fans and a jury which included journalists from all over the world, players, coaches and another important actors in the world. Messi's win takes him two clear of Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to overall Ballon d'Or victories while it is a setback for Lewandowski who was arguably set to win the award last year before it got cancelled.