Paris Saint Germain forward, Lionel Messi has reportedly won his 7th Ballon d’Or. France Football, the French publication behind the award has informed the football star that he has won the award weeks before the official date for the award according to RTP Sports.
The 2021 Ballon d’Or ceremony is scheduled to take place in Paris, France on November 29. Normally, the winner of the annual award was not supposed to be announced until during the award ceremony. But this time around, the name of the winner has been leaked before the ceremony.
If this report is anything to go by, this means that Lionel Messi would remain the player with the highest number of Ballon d’Or. Recall that before now, Messi has received the award a record 6 times, one more than his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo and Messi have been very consistent with winning the award. In the last 12 years, it has always been either Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. The only time either player failed to win the Ballon d’Or was in 2018. Luka Modric won the award ahead of the two football icons.
They didn’t have the opportunity to compete for the award in 2020 because the organizer of the award decided to cancel it due to the coronavirus pandemic that affected the smooth flow of football.
Most people felt Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich could have won the 2020 edition of the award ahead of Messi and Ronaldo. Unfortunately for him, the award was suspended for a year.
When France football released the nominees for the 2021 edition of the award, most pundits across the world believe that the award will either go for Messi or Lewandowski.
Messi is rated higher than any other nominees because of his performance between 2020 and 2021. Recall that he scored 38 goals and provided 14 assists last season.
His effort helped Barcelona to win the Spanish Cup. The 34-year-old Argentine football icon also helped his country to win Copa America in July 2021.
On the other hand, Lewandowski was the highest goalscorer in Europe last season and also helped Bayern to win domestic titles. However, he could not do much with his country, Poland.
Another player that is regarded as a close contender for the award is Italian Midfielder Jorginho who helped Chelsea to win last season UEFA Champions League and helped his country to win Euro 2020.
As it stands, if Lionel Messi is officially declared the winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or, he would have two Ballon d’Or more than Ronaldo, four more than Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff, and Marco van Basten.
Lionel Messi 2021🇦🇷- 7th Ballon d’or loading pic.twitter.com/sIwzJ12w0L
— MDcomps (@MDcomps_) November 2, 2021
France Football said Messi is yet to win the Ballon d’Or
Meanwhile, contrary to the speculation that the organizer of the Ballon d’Or, France Football, had informed Lionel Messi that he had won the award, the organizer said no one has been declared the winner yet.
In an interview with a German publication, Bild, the editor of France football, Pascal Ferre described the speculation as “bullsh*t”.
“That’s a lot of bullsh*t we’ve seen in the past 10 days. A big bluff”, he said.
If the editor’s statement is anything to go by, it means that the contest is still open and the likes of Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, and Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo who are seen as the main contenders, still stand a chance of winning the prestigious football award.
