As our sister site covered in their football news today, Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or. But who were the other triumphants in this prestigious French awards ceremony? Well, here are the 2021 Ballon d’Or winners – and the ones who came close to winning, too.
Lionel Messi has clinched the 2021 Copa America as well as their Player of the Tournament trophies as Argentina’s captain.
Add to that an illustrious final season with Barcelona in La Liga, and you have a Ballon d’Or winner.
The Argentina superstar has once again been named the best player on the planet, with Robert Lewandowski finishing as runner-up.
But there were other winners on Monday night beside him, for other award categories.
Here Are the 2021 Ballon d’Or Winners – and the Ones Who Came Close
First, lets acquaint ourselves with the top 30 men footballers as Ballon d’Or has ranked them:
| Rank | Name | Points | Position | Club | National Team |
| 1. | Lionel Messi | 613 | FW | PSG | Argentina |
| 2. | Robert Lewandowski | 580 | FW | Bayern Munich | Poland |
| 3. | Jorginho | 460 | MF | Chelsea | Italy |
| 4. | Karim Benzema | 239 | FW | Real Madrid | France |
| 5. | N’Golo Kante | 186 | MF | Chelsea | France |
| 6. | Cristiano Ronaldo | 178 | FW | Manchester United | Portugal |
| 7. | Mohamed Salah | 121 | FW | Liverpool | Egypt |
| 8. | Kevin De Bruyne | 73 | MF | Manchester City | Belgium |
| 9. | Kylian Mbappe | 58 | FW | PSG | France |
| 10. | Gianluigi Donnarumma | 36 | GK | PSG | Italy |
| 11. | Erling Haaland | 33 | FW | Borussia Dortmund | Norway |
| 12. | Romelu Lukaku | 26 | FW | Chelsea | Belgium |
| 13. | Giorgio Chiellini | 26 | DF | Juventus | Italy |
| 14. | Leonardo Bonucci | 18 | DF | Juventus | Italy |
| 15. | Raheem Sterling | 10 | FW | Manchester City | England |
| 16. | Neymar | 9 | FW | PSG | Brazil |
| 17. | Luis Suarez | 8 | FW | Atletico Madrid | Uruguay |
| 18. | Simon Kjaer | 8 | DF | AC Milan | Denmark |
| 19. | Mason Mount | 7 | MF | Chelsea | England |
| 20. | Riyad Mahrez | 7 | FW | Manchester City | Algeria |
| =21. | Bruno Fernandes | 6 | MF | Manchester United | Portugal |
| =21. | Lautaro Martinez | 6 | FW | Inter Milan | Argentina |
| 23. | Harry Kane | 4 | FW | Tottenham Hotspur | England |
| 24. | Pedri | 3 | MF | FC Barcelona | Spain |
| 25. | Phil Foden | 2 | FW | Manchester City | England |
| =26. | Nicolo Barella | 1 | MF | Inter Milan | Italy |
| =26. | Ruben Dias | 1 | DF | Manchester City | Portugal |
| =26. | Gerard Moreno | 1 | FW | Villarreal | Spain |
| =29. | Cesar Azpilicueta | 0 | DF | Chelsea | Spain |
| =29. | Luka Modric | 0 | MF | Real Madrid | Croatia |
Other Winners
As for the women, another FC Barcelona loyal, midfielder Alexia Putellas of Spain, won the Ballon d’Or for greatest player.
And though Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski missed out on the Ballon d’Or, he did become Striker of the Year.
Italy and Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma clinched the Yashin Trophy whereas Champions-League-champions Chelsea were the Club of the Year.
