Lionel Messi wins Ballon d'Or 2021 award
What's the story
The biggest names in world football gathered for the prestigious Ballon d'Or 2021 ceremony in Paris.
Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or 2021 - his seventh crown.
Messi edged past Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho.
Meanwhile, Barcelona women's 27-year-old mid-fielder Alexia Putellas bagged the Women's Ballon d'Or.
The best men's player and women's player were adjudged after voting by journalists from around the world.
Crown
Lionel Messi wins seventh Ballon d'Or crown
Messi, who has won a record six Ballon d'Ors, has claimed a seventh award.
The Argentine superstar netted 38 goals in the 2020-21 season, including the most in La Liga (30).
He helped Barca win the Copa del Rey.
Messi saw Argentina win the Copa America honor.
He bagged the Player of the Tournament and the Golden Boot at the Copa America.
Twitter Post
Ballon d'Or 2021 winner
HERE IS THE WINNER!
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) November 29, 2021
SEVEN BALLON D’OR FOR LIONEL MESSI! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/U2SywJmruC
Duo
Lewandowski and Jorginho finish second and third respectively
Lewandowski bagged the second position ahead of third-placed Jorginho.
The Polish international has bagged the most goals in European club football since the 2019-20 season to date.
Chelsea's Jorginho finished third despite winning the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup.
He also won the Euro 2020 with Italy.
In August, he won UEFA Men's Player of the Year 2020-21.
Ronaldo
Ballon d'Or: Cristiano Ronaldo finishes sixth
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the sixth spot.
Ronaldo scored 36 goals in all competitions for Juventus last season.
On the international stage, Ronaldo became the first player to score at five Euro finals.
He finished as Euro 2020 top goal-scorer with five goals, moving him five clear of Michel Platini as the all-time leading scorer in European Championship history.
Information
Ballon d'Or rankings between 1-10 (men's)
Here are the players who finished in the Top 10 for the Ballon d'Or award, 1) Lionel Messi 2) Robert Lewandowski 3) Jorginho 4) Karim Benzema 5) N'Golo Kante, 6) Cristiano Ronaldo 7) Mohamed Salah, 8) Kevin De Bruyne, 9) Kylian Mbappe, 10) Gianluigi Donnarumma
11-30
Ballon d'Or rankings between 11-30
11) Erling Braut Haaland
12) Romelu Lukaku
13) Giorgio Chiellini
14) Leonardo Bonucci
15) Raheem Sterling
16) Neymar
17) Luis Suarez
18) Simon Kjaer
19) Mason Mount
20) Riyad Mahrez
21) Bruno Fernandes
21) Lautaro Martinez
23) Harry Kane
24) Pedri
25) Phil Foden
26) Gerard Moreno
26) Ruben Dias
26) Nicolo Barella
29) Luka Modric
29) Cesar Azpilicueta
Pedri
Pedri wins the Kopa Trophy
France Football has also presented the Kopa Trophy to the best performing player under 21 years of age.
Barcelona and Spain mid-fielder Pedri has won the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21.
Pedri played 73 times in the 2020-21 season for Barcelona, Spain, and the Spanish Olympic team.
He made 52 appearances for Barca, scoring four goals.
Twitter Post
Kopa Trophy winner
And the 2021 #tropheekopa is... @Pedri of @FCBarcelona_es !#ballondor pic.twitter.com/Bb84xEqUBY
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) November 29, 2021
Lewandowski
Lewandowski wins Striker of the Year award
Bayern ace Lewandowski scored 48 goals last season, helping his side win Bundesliga and DFL-Supercup.
As per Sky Sports, Lewandowski has netted 73 goals in just 60 games for Bayern Munich since the start of last season.
He had earlier won FIFA's and UEFA's Men's player of the Year awards in 2020.
He scored nine goals in 11 appearances for Poland last season.
Twitter Post
Lewandowski is Striker of the Year
The striker of the year award goes to… Robert Lewandowski ! 🦾 #ballondor pic.twitter.com/OEy9mlSjki
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) November 29, 2021
Information
Gianluigi Donnarumma bags the Yashin Trophy
Italy goal-keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma bagged the Yashin Trophy. He was named UEFA's Player of the Tournament for Euro 2020, becoming only the second keeper to win the award, after Peter Schmeichel in 1992. He helped Italy win the Euro 2020 crown.
Twitter Post
Yashin Trophy winner!
The 2021 #tropheeyachine is... @gigiodonna1 🇪🇸 of @PSG_inside ! #ballondor" pic.twitter.com/IVGmTkEvr7
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) November 29, 2021
Putellas
Barcelona's Putellas wins Women's Ballon d'Or
Putellas is the third ever Women's Ballon d'Or winner.
Putellas was one of five Barcelona women footballers nominated after their first Champions League triumph, as well as winning the Primera Division title.
Putellas ended the season as the highest-scoring mid-fielder in Europe with 26 goals in all competitions.
She was named UEFA's Women's Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year.
Twitter Post
2021 Women's Ballon d'Or winner
Alexia Putellas is your 2021 Women's #ballondor! pic.twitter.com/DJLB2YNObL
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) November 29, 2021
Women's
Women's Ballon d'Or: Top 10 players
1) Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, Spain)
2) Jennifer Hermoso (Barcelona, Spain)
3) Sam Kerr (Chelsea, Australia)
4) Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal, Netherlands)
5) Lieke Martens (Barcelona, Netherlands)
6) Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns, Canada)
7) Pernille Harder (Chelsea, Denmark)
8) Ashley Lawrence (PSG, Canada)
9) Jessie Fleming (Chelsea, Canada)
10) Fran Kirby (Chelsea, England)