Ballon d’Or 2021 LIVE as Lionel Messi beats Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho for award

2021 Ballon d’Or ceremony took place on Monday with Lionel Messi beating Robert Lewandowski to the men’s award as Alexia Putellas collecting the women’s prize

Lionel Messi speaks after winning record seventh Ballon d'Or

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, 34, held off the challenge of Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Chelsea’s Jorginho to collect the prize and move two clear in his long-running battle with five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who was among the 30 players shortlisted but did not feature in the top three for the first time in 11 years.

Messi was the favourite to collect the award after winning the Copa America with Argentina earlier this year – his first major international trophy – despite one of his less impressive periods at club level: Barcelona finished third in La Liga and fell in the first knockout round of the Champions League. However, Messi scored two goals as Barca won the Copa del Rey final and he was La Liga’s top goalscorer once more, before switching to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.

Lewandowski did pick up the consolation prize of the newly formed Striker of the Year award, while the Women’s Ballon d’Or went to Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas.

Further awards went to Gianluigi Donnarumma for the Yashin Trophy of best goalkeeper, to Barcelona midfielder Pedri as the starlet was handed the Kopa Trophy and another new award went to Chelsea for Club of the Year for their on-pitch achievements with both men’s and women’s teams. You can follow all the latest updates and reaction below. Keep up with all the latest breaking news by signing up to our free email alerts by clicking here.

Ballon d’Or 2021

• Messi, Lewandowski, Jorginho and Benzema chase men’s award
• Chelsea’s Champions League-winning captain Azpilicueta finishes T-29
• Man City and England playmaker Foden places 25th
• England captain and Spurs striker Kane ranks 23rd
• Chelsea’s Mount comes 19th
• Highest-ranked England star is Sterling in 15th
• Pedri wins Kopa Trophy, Jude Bellingham in second
• Lewandowski wins new Striker of the Year award
• Putellas wins Ballon d’Or Feminin award
• Donnarumma wins Yashin Trophy as best goalkeeper
• Chelsea win new Club of the Year award
• Messi wins record seventh Ballon d’Or

[29 November 2021 13:32 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Ballon d’Or 2021: Yashin Trophy

Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy and PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma lead the running for the men’s goalkeeper award, the Yashin Trophy, named after the legendary Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin.

Mendy has enjoyed a brilliant year for Chelsea as the Blues won the Champions League, and they have been miserly in the Premier League this season with only five goals conceded. Donnarumma has barely featured for his new club PSG, through injury and the form of Keylor Navas, but the 22-year-old enjoyed an outstanding Euro 2020 and was named Player of the Tournament as Italy went all the way.

[29 November 2021 13:09 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Ballon d’Or 2021: Kopa Trophy

Barcelona and Spain prodigy Pedri has been tipped to win the prestigious Kopa Trophy, presented to the best young player in men’s football at the Ballon d’Or 2021 awards ceremony.

Pedri, who turned 19 last week, enjoyed a breakthrough season in the Barcelona first team in 2020-21, featuring in 37 of their 38 league matches, and established himself in the Spanish national team too with his brand of supreme technique and skill on the ball not unlike one of the great midfielders of Barca and Spain, Andres Iniesta.

He was voted Young Player of the Tournament at the summer’s European Championship, and was the only Spanish player to be named in the Euros’ Team of the Tournament, before going on to play at the Olympic Games too. In total, Pedri played 73 matches for club and country in the 2020-21 season.

Pedri faces from Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who turned 18 during Euro 2020. Bellingham has shone as a box-to-box midfielder for club and country with a rare combination of skill, intelligence and athleticism for someone so young.

Pedri in action for Barcelona (AP)

[29 November 2021 13:02 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards?

While the women’s award has only been going since 2019, the men’s award dates back to 1956. The award, presented by French magazine France Football, is considered the highest individual honour in football. It was only eligible for European players up until 1995, before voting was opened up to all players at European clubs. From 2007, it became a global award.

There are 10 players to have won the prize multiple times, listed below. Germany, Netherlands and Portugal all have seven wins each, while Germany and Italy have the most individual winners – five different players each. Barcelona is the most successful club with 12 wins, though Real Madrid has more individual winners – seven.

Lionel Messi (Arg) – 6

Cristiano Ronaldo (Por) – 5

Michel Platini (Fra) – 3

Johann Cruyff (Ned) – 3

Marco van Basten (Ned) – 3

Franz Beckenbauer (Ger) – 2

Ronaldo (Bra) – 2

Alfredo Di Stefano (Spa) – 2

Kevin Keegan (Eng) – 2

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Ger) – 2

[29 November 2021 12:45 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Ballon d’Or 2021: women’s shortlist

It was no surprise to see the women’s shortlist dominated by Barcelona Femeni, who thrived at home and abroad en route to a historic treble, while there also plenty of nominations for Women’s Super League winners Chelsea.

Alexia Putellas has been at the heart of everything good about Barcelona’s year so far and the 27-year-old midfielder is the favourite to scoop the third women’s Ballon d’Or, following in the footsteps of Ada Hegerberg in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe in 2019 (the 2020 award was cancelled due to the pandemic). Chelsea’s prolific Sam Kerr is also in the running, as is her teammate Fran Kirby, but if anyone is to pip Putellas it will surely be Barca goalscorer Jennifer Hermoso.

• Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
• Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea)
• Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain)
• Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
• Stina Blackstenius (BK Hacken)
• Wendie Renard (Lyon)
• Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage)
• Pernille Harder (Chelsea)
• Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal)
• Sandra Panos (Barcelona)
• Lieke Martens (Barcelona)
• Jessie Fleming (Chelsea)
• Irene Paredes (Barcelona)
• Ashley Lawrence (Paris Saint-Germain)
• Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns)
• Ellen White (Manchester City)
• Christiane Endler (Lyon)
• Jennifer Hermoso (Barcelona)
• Fran Kirby (Chelsea)
• Kaddiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain)

[29 November 2021 12:40 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Ballon d’Or 2021: men’s shortlist

There are 30 names on the men’s shortlist, which is dominated by the Premier League with 14 representatives.

• Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
• Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
• Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
• Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
• Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
• Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
• Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
• Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
• Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
• Phil Foden (Manchester City)
• Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
• Jorginho (Chelsea)
• Harry Kane (Tottenham)
• N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
• Simon Kjaer (AC Milan)
• Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
• Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
• Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
• Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
• Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
• Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
• Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
• Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
• Mason Mount (Chelsea)
• Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
• Pedri (Barcelona)
• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
• Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
• Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)

[29 November 2021 12:23 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Ballon d’Or 2021: how does voting work?

Originally voted for by journalists since its conception in 1956, in 2007 the structure of the award was changed to include voting from coaches and captains of national teams around the world, at which point the prize also became open to all players globally rather than just those playing in European leagues – though it has never been won by a player playing outside of Europe.

Each national coach, captain and journalist picks their top three players from the calendar year. The votes are added up, with three points awarded for a top pick, two for a second pick and one point for a third pick.

[29 November 2021 12:20 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Ballon d’Or 2021

Some early insight into who might be in the running this evening:

[29 November 2021 12:14 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Ballon d’Or 2021

Lionel Messi is expected to collect his seventh Ballon d’Or award at a glittering 2021 ceremony in Paris this evening. Messi is the favourite after winning the Copa America with Argentina earlier this year, despite one of his less impressive years at club level: Barcelona finished third in La Liga and fell in the first knockout round of the Champions League. However, Messi scored two goals as Barca won the Copa del Rey final and he was La Liga’s top goalscorer once more, before switching to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.

Robert Lewandowski was widely expected to win last year’s award before it was cancelled due to the pandemic, and the Bayern Munich striker is in the running once again. Chelsea’s Jorginho is another candidate, having won the Champions League with his club and Euro 2020 with his country Italy a couple of months later.

Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas and Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema lead the charge for the women’s award. Putellas scored in the final as the all-conquering Barca won the Champions League, while Miedema is both Netherlands and Women’s Super League all-time leading goalscorer and racked up goals at the Olympic Games. Spain’s Pedri is expected to win the Kopa Trophy for the best men’s young player, while Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy and PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma lead the running for the men’s goalkeeper award, the Yashin Trophy.