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Lionel Messi Wins Record-Breaking Seventh Ballon d'Or Trophy

Lionel Messi Wins Record-Breaking Seventh Ballon d'Or Trophy

The Argentinian footballer narrowly nudged out Robert Lewandowski to claim the top prize.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Lionel Messi has been awarded a seventh Ballon d'Or trophy.

The legendary Argentinian athlete was recognised by France Football for scoring 41 goals and 17 assists during his 56 appearances.

Those appearances included him playing for both club and country.

Messi collected his latest Ballon d'Or at a ceremony hosted by Chelsea legend Didier Drogba at the Theatre du Chatelet in the French capital.

He was up against some strong competition, with Robert Lewandowski largely tipped to be the contender who could have taken out the top prize.

The Bayern Munich and Poland striker had an unbelievable year after scoring 41 goals in just 29 games (which was a Bundesliga record).

However, the judges felt Messi's performance during the 2020/21 season at a club and national level was simply unmatched.

Lewandowski came in second on the rankings, followed by Jorginho, Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe and Gianluigi Donnarumma.

It was the first time since 2010 that Ronaldo had fallen outside the top three in the list.

The Manchester United star didn't attend the glitzy ceremony and revealed that he was boycotting it because of comments made by Pascal Ferre.

Ferre, who is the editor of France Football and responsible for the Ballon d'Or event, slagged off Ronaldo to the New York Times.

"Ronaldo has only one ambition, and that is to retire with more Ballons d'Or than Messi, and I know that because he has told me," Ferre said to the newspaper.

Ronald hit back on Instagram, saying: "Today's outcome explains why Pascal Ferré's statements last week, when he said that I confided in him that my only ambition was to finish my career with more Golden Balls than Lionel Messi.

"Pascal Ferré lied, he used my name to promote himself and to promote the publication he works for.

"It is unacceptable that the person responsible for awarding such a prestigious prize could lie in this way, in absolute disrespect for someone who has always respected France Football and the Ballon d'Or.

"And he lied again today, justifying my absence from the Gala with an alleged quarantine that has no reason to exist."

Featured Image Credit: Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua/Alamy Live News

Topics: SPORT, Lionel Messi