Lionel Messi wins record 7th men's Ballon d'Or

Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or for a record seventh time, beating Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho to lift football's most prestigious trophy once more. His previous wins came in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019 - he had already won the trophy more times than any other player.

The 34-year-old was pivotal in Argentina's success - winning the Copa America - his first international honor, scoring 40 goals in 2021 - 28 for Barcelona, four for PSG and eight for Argentina.

Messi said:

“It is incredible to be here again. Two years ago I thought that it was my last year and now I am here again. I am very happy, very excited and wanting to fight for new challenges.

“I do not know how long I have left but I hope it will be a long time. I want to thank my teammates from Barcelona and PSG, and especially the Argentina team. I won this award and I had the feeling that I was missing something and this year I was able to achieve it.

“A large part of this trophy is because of what we did in the Copa America, so thanks to my teammates, this is also yours. My wife, my children, my father, my mother are here.

“It is a huge honor to fight with Robert [Lewandowski]. Last year you were the winner and I think France Football should give it to you.”

180 journalists around the world vote the Ballon d'Or winner, but there was no Ballon d'Or 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Lewandowski scored 53 goals in all competitions in 2021 for Bayern, and was awarded the Striker of the Year award, a new award introduced this year and only announced hours before the ceremony began.

Barcelona midfielder Pedri, 19, won the Kopa Trophy for the best player aged under 21, while Paris St-Germain's Gianluigi Donnarumma, who helped Italy win Euro 2020, won the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper. Champions League winners Chelsea were named Club of the Year

The top ten for the 2021 Ballon d'Or are:

1st - Lionel Messi

2nd - Robert Lewandowski

3rd - Jorginho

4th - Karim Benzema

5th - N'Golo Kante

6th - Cristiano Ronaldo

7th - Mohamed Salah

8th - Kevin De Bruyne

9th - Kylian Mbappe

10th - Gianluigi Donnarumma

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