Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi added to his trophy cabinet on Monday as he was awarded the 2021 Ballon d’Or by France Football. This is the seventh such win of the Argentine’s career, which extends his already impressive record for it.
For the past months, Messi was deemed as the heavy favorite to win the 2021 Ballon d’Or due to his heroics in leading the Argentina national team to triumph over the 2021 Copa America tournament.
For the Argentine forward, he sees that this tournament win played a key factor in him winning yet another Ballon d’Or, which he explained further during a press conference (via L’Equipe) after receiving the honor.
“I think I got this trophy for what we managed to do at the Copa America with Argentina,” Messi said. “After fighting for years and stumbling frequently, I finally made it. It is also a pride for me to be the first player to win it with the PSG shirt. I enjoyed seeing my family happy tonight.”
As it stands, Messi sits at 41 goals and 17 assists in all competitions over the calendar year. It may be a longshot for him to reach 50 goals scored in 2021, but he sure has what it takes to score nine goals in December to reach this figure.