Lionel Messi won his seventh Ballon d’Or and this made it even harder for Cristiano Ronaldo and other footballers to catch up with Messi.
Messi was declared the winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or and the trophy is Messi’s seventh in his career. Previously, he had won the Ballon d’Or in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019.
Messi’s Ballon d’Or record is difficult for other footballers to match. The only closest active competitor to match Messi is Ronaldo. CR7 already has a collection of five Ballon d’Or in his career namely in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017.
For this year, Ronaldo is not even Messi’s main opponent. Ronaldo was not selected into the top three, which is inhabited by Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho. Ronaldo only sits in sixth place in the 2021 Ballon d’Or election.
With the condition behind two Ballon d’Or titles, Ronaldo will find it increasingly difficult to catch Messi.
In terms of age, Ronaldo is two years older than Messi so on paper Ronaldo will also retire earlier than Messi.
For next year, the 2022 World Cup will be an important factor behind the determination of the Ballon d’Or winner.
Messi himself has been confirmed to appear in the 2022 World Cup because Argentina has already sealed a ticket to the World Cup.
Meanwhile Ronaldo and Portugal still have to compete in the European zone playoffs to win the remaining tickets to the 2022 World Cup.
Apart from the 2022 World Cup, the performances of Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain in domestic competitions and the Champions League will also play an important role for Ronaldo and Messi.
Man Utd and PSG themselves have confirmed themselves to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League. While in domestic competition, Man Utd are in eighth position in the Premier League while PSG are unmatched at the top of Ligue 1.
While outside of Ronaldo, it takes an extraordinary career for a player to get close to Messi’s Ballon d’Or record.
Messi assessed that this 2021 Ballon d’Or title was obtained because of his success in winning the Copa America for the first time with the Argentine national team in July 2021.
“It’s great to be here again. Two years ago I thought this was the last. Winning the Copa America was the key,” Messi said at Paris’ Theater du Chatelet.
While the women’s Ballon d’Or went to Alexia Putellas after the Spanish midfielder led Barcelona to the Champions League title.
“The key moment was the Champions League final against Olympique Lyonnais,” said Alexia Putellas.
Putellas is the winner of the third edition of the women’s Ballon d’Or after Ada Hegerberg in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe in 2019.
Meanwhile, Barcelona’s 19-year-old Pedri was awarded the Kopa trophy for the best under-21 player.
“The best way to celebrate my 19th birthday is to receive this award. I want to thank everyone at Barcelona for helping me here,” said Pedri.
