Lionel Messi had an incredible 2021, finally winning his first international trophy with the Argentina national team, defeating Brazil to win the Copa America this summer.
The 34-year-old scored 48 goals for both FC Barcelona and La Albiceleste in the 2020-21 season and has chipped in with four goals with Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 thus far.
All these accomplishments have led to Messi winning the 2021 Ballon d’Or, the seventh of his career, adding to the record when it comes to the number of times a player has won the award.
🙌 𝓛𝓮𝓸 𝓜𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓲 🥇 pic.twitter.com/zhefW1gdPM
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) November 29, 2021
Messi won over FC Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, who won the UEFA Champions League with the German giant in 2020. The 33-year-old scored 61 goals between FC Bayern Munich and the Poland national team in 2020-21.
As a result, there’s some criticism regarding Messi winning the award over Lewandowski. Nonetheless, winning an international trophy might have tipped the scale in Messi’s favor, but there’s plenty of discussion over this award.
