Argentina’s Lionel Andrés Messi (Lionel Messi), who plays as a forward for Paris Saint-Germain has won the Ballon d’Or award or Golden Ball Award for the record 7th time and Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas has won the Women’s Ballon d’Or award or Ballon d’Or Féminin Award. This is Alexia’s first Ballon d’Or Award.
- The year 2021 marks the 65 edition of the Ballon d’Or Ceremony.
- The 2021 Ballon d’Or ceremony was held on 29th November 2021 in Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, France.
Key Points:
i.Previously Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019.
ii.Messi tops the list of Ballon d’Or recipients with 7 awards followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with 5 awards.
iii.Alexia Putellas is the 3rd recipient of the Women’s Ballon d’Or award after Ada Hegerberg in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe in 2019.
About Ballon d’Or awards:
i.The Ballon d’Or (English: Golden Ball) is an annual award, presented by the French magazine ‘France Football’, since 1956.
ii.The Ballon d’Or is one of the oldest and most prestigious individual award for a soccer player.
History:
i.Till 1995, the award was only eligible for European players later it was opened for all players at European clubs. From 2007, the Ballon d’Or became a global award.
ii.The Women’s Ballon d’Or Award was first launched in 2018.
Stanley Matthews of Blackpool was the first-ever recipient of the Ballon d’Or (1956).
Ballon d’Or 2020:
The Ballon d’Or 2020 was not awarded since the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the seasons of the football clubs across the globe.
Other Winners:
i.Italy and PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has won the 2021 Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper.
ii.Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski won the Striker of the Year award 2021.
iii.19-year-old Pedro González López, known as Pedri, of Spain won the Kopa trophy which is presented to the best male player age 21 or under.
iv.Chelsea FC won the 2021 Club of the Year at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony.
Ballon d’Or awards 2021:
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Men’s Ballon d’Or | Lionel Messi(Argentina) Paris Saint-Germain |
| Women’s Ballon d’Or | Alexia Putellas(Spain) Barcelona |
| Striker of the year | Robert Lewandowski(Poland) Bayern Munich |
| Kopa Trophy | Pedri (Pedro Gonzalez Lopez)(Spain) Barcelona |
| Yachine Trophy | Gianluigi Donnarumma(Italy) Paris Saint-Germain |
| Club of the year | Chelsea FC |