Lionel Messi has won the men’s 2021 Ballon d’Or, and a record seventh trophy, at an awards ceremony in Paris on Monday evening.
Messi finished ahead of Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, who came in second and third, respectively.
Manchester United and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who holds the second-most Ballon d’Ors with five, finished sixth on the 2021 ballot.
Messi took Argentina’s national team to its first Copa América victory since 1993 earlier this year, leading the tournament in both goals (4, tied with Colombia’s Luis Díaz) and assists (5).
In his acceptance speech on Monday, Messi said the runner-up Lewandowski should have been given the 2020 award, which had no winner due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “I think that you deserved to win the award last year,” he said to Lewandowski in the audience at the award ceremony in Paris.
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