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If there is one trophy that every football dreams of winning, it is the Ballon d'Or which is presented by France Football. This year, it is the 65th ceremony of the prestigious award with the winners set to be announced on November 29. Ahead of the D-Day, there has been a lot of buzz and speculations around it which is making it quite exciting for football fans across the globe.

With so much to look forward to, let us have a look at all the latest updates, rumours, predictions and so much more. Welcome to SportsTiger's Ballon d'Or 2021 LIVE BLOG!

A starry event now has come to an end. Thank you all for joining us for the Live Blog. Au revoir!

2:43 AM: Eiffel Tower lights up!

2:34 AM: Luis Suarez presents the Ballon d'Or award to Messi

Lionel Messi's good friend and former teammate Luis Suarez present the Ballon d'Or award to him.

2:22 AM: Lionel Messi wins the Ballon d'Or!

What a moment for the Argentine as he wins his 7th Ballon d'Or. A record that will be hard to break in the future.

Robert Lewandowski finishes second in the Ballon d'Or race.

2:21 AM: It's Messi vs Lewandowski now! Who will win?

2:20 AM: Chelsea wins 'Club of the Year' Award

2:20 AM: Jorginho grabs the 3rd spot

2:19 AM: Karim Benzema comes in 4th

2:17 AM: N'Golo Kanté grabs the 5th spot

2:03 AM: Gianluigi Donnarumma wins Yachine Trophy

The winner of the Yashin Trophy and the best goalkeeper in the world for 2021 is Gianluigi Donnarumma.

2:00 AM: Cristiano Ronaldo grabs 6th spot

Cristiano Ronaldo also misses out on top 5. The Man United striker is in 6th spot. Ronaldo finishes outside the top five in the Ballon d’Or for the first time since 2010.

1:58 AM: Mo Salah comes in 7th!

Liverpool striker Mo Salah misses out on top 5. He grabs the 7th spot.

1:57 AM: Kevin de Bruyne comes in 8th!

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is at 8th in the rankings.

1:49 AM: Alexia Putellas wins the Women's Ballon d'Or!

FC Barcelona Femini midfielder Alexia Putellas wins the Women's Ballon d'Or 2021.

“I’m very emotional, it’s a very special moment. It’s special to have my teammates here after all we’ve achieved.

“It’s an individual award but it’s a collective achievement - I hope you all see it that way.”

1:39 AM: Kyle Mbappe comes in 9th

PSG star and France striker Kyle Mbappe grabs the 9th spot in the ranking.

1:37 AM: Time for the Top 10!

Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma bags the 10th spot in Ballon d'Or rankings.

1:30 AM: Lewandowski gets Striker of the Year Award!

Robert Lewandowski has been awarded the first Striker of the Year award.

1:19 AM: Pedri wins Kopa Trophy!

The Barcelona young sensation grabs the Kopa Trophy. Jude Bellingham comes 2nd, while Jamal Musiala grabs the 3rd spot.

1:13 AM: Formula 1 stars Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon bringing the prestigious Ballon d'Or trophies on stage.

1:04 AM: The event has started!

1:02 AM: Spiderman is here!

1:00 AM: The main event is about to start

12:43 AM: STOP THE PRESS! MESSI IS HERE!

12:38 AM: PSG's shining star Kyle Mbappe arrives 

12:26 AM: The two new awards that will be given today are reported ‘Club of the Year’ and ‘Striker of the Year’.

12:12 AM: Robert Lewandowski is in the house!

11:57 PM: Cristiano Ronaldo has responded to Pascal Ferre's statement

11:40 PM: The trophies are ready!

11:34 PM: Red Carpet about to start!

11:31 PM: Erling Haaland misses out on top 10!

Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland voted in 11th after a spectacular season with the Bundesliga side.

11:28 PM: Romelu Lukaku in 12th 

The now Chelsea star had a big tournament with Belgium and got a big transfer to Chelsea this season.

11: 27 PM: Giorgio Chiellini grabs 13th spot

Another Italian in top-20! The Juventus star lifted the Euro 2020 this season.

11:26 PM: Bonucci in 14th

Italy centre-back Leonardo Bonucci is ranked at 14th.

11: 23 PM: Raheem Sterling grabs 15th spot

Man City forward Raheem Sterling has grabbed the 15th spot. He played a massive role for England in going Euro 2020 final.

11:22 PM: Neymar comes in 16th

PSG star Neymar, who suffered an ankle injury on Sunday, is voted 16th.

11:20 PM: Luis Suarez in 17th

Veteran Luis Suarez comes 17th after helping Atletico Madrid to the championship in LaLiga.

11: 18 PM: Kjaer comes in 18th

AC Milan centre-back Simon Kjaer comes in 18 after an excellent individual season.

11:04 PM: Mason Mount ranked 19th

Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount is ranked 19th in the world best footballer list. Quite an achievement for the youngster.

10:12 PM: Riyad Mahrez enters in top 20!

Manchester United forward Riyad Mahrez comes in 20th place.

10:10 PM: Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, along with Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez come in tied for 21st.

9:57 PM: Harry Kane comes in 23rd

Tottenham Hotspurs' striker last year won the Golden Boot in the Premier League.

9:36 PM: Pedri gets 24th rank 

Barcelona and Spain's star Pedri gets 24th ranking. Notably, He’s in the running to win the Kopa Trophy tonight.

9:34 PM: Phil Foden gets 25th ranking

Manchester City sensation Phil Foden is placed 25th in the ranking.

9:32 PM: Three players tied in joint 26th

Inter Milan's Nicolo Barella, Manchester City’s Ruben Dias and Villarreal forward Gerard Moreno all announced together.

9:10 PM: Reveal countdown begins!

Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Chelsea’s Champions League-winning defender Cesar Azpilicueta are joint 29th in Ballon d'Or award ranking.

9:08 PM: SURPRISE SURPRISE! Two new awards to be given tonight!

9:02 PM: The ceremony is about to start. Here is what to expect

8:36 PM: Karim Benzema to not attend the event

Real Madrid's star player is set to miss the gala event in Paris tonight. The striker flew to Lyon and the club also confirmed his unavailability for the event.

7:18 PM: Chelsea legend Didier Drogba will be hosting the Ballon d'Or tonight.

7:15 PM: Leo Messi is trending ahead of the Ballon d'Or ceremony. Will he take his 7th award tonight?

6:00 PM: Ronaldo not attending Ballon D’or Ceremony

It has been learnt that Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo will not be in Paris today for the Ballon D’or Ceremony.

5:35 PM: Will we see a new winner today?

Notably, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won 11 of the last 12 Ballon d'Or awards between them, with Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric's success in 2018 being the only exception. All three players have been shortlisted this year also.

5:10 PM: Check out the Ballon d'or Winning Criteria:

1. Individual and collective performance

2. Class of player (fair-play)

3. Consistency (Maintaing a level of performance over time)

4:45 PM: Did you know?

The Ballon d'Or 2021 winner will given a spectacular “only one in the world” specially made Ballon d’Or Watch.

3:25 PM: A look at Messi's terrific performance last season

Even though Barcelona struggled last season, Lionel Messi had another extraordinary campaign on an individual level. He broke Pele's record of the most goals for one club. Messi even became the first player in history to score at least 20 goals in 13 consecutive seasons in Europe's top five leagues.

More importantly, Messi finally ended his wait for a first major international title as Argentina defeated Brazil in the Copa America final.

2:55 PM: A look at Lewandowski's astonishing numbers last season

Robert Lewandowski finished as the top scorer in Europe with 41 Bundesliga goals. He also won the German title with Bayern Munich as well as the European Golden Shoe. In addition, he broke Gerd Muller's 49-year record of most Bundesliga goals in a campaign. He also scored nine goals in 11 appearances for Poland last season.

2:00 PM: Will it be Lewandowski's night in Paris after a sensational season with Bayern Munich?

1:00 PM: New Twitter Emoji for Ballon d'Or

12:20 PM: Ballon d’Or Ceremony Details

The 2021 Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held on Tuesday, November 29. The ceremony will start around 1:00 AM IST (Monday night).

11:35 AM: Countdown begins

11:00 AM: Welcome back

10:00 PM: See you tomorrow!

That's it for today from all the updates around much-awaited Ballon d'Or 2021. Join us tomorrow for the D-Day as we get set for an action packed day from world of football. Until then, Good Night!

9:55 PM: Sergio Ramos vouches for Messi to win the award

"Obviously I stand up for Messi and I wish him all the best," Sergio Ramos said after making his PSG debut during their 3-1 over Saint-Etienne.

9:30 PM: Timings and Streaming of the ceremony

To clarify for the football fans once again, the Ballon d'Or 2021 ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM GMT (November 29) i.e. 1 AM IST (November 30).

The event will be telecast live on L’Equipe’s YouTube channel. According to Latestly, the TV broadcast will also be available on Star Sports network in India, along with online streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

9:10 PM: Blast from the past

2017 - Cristiano Ronaldo

2018 - Luka Modric

2019 - Lionel Messi

2020 - Cancelled

2021 - ?

8:20 PM: Messi magic in Paris

Just a day prior to the ceremony, Lionel Messi re-established all the claims and speculations around him winning the Ballon d'Or 2021 by producing an emphatic performance on Sunday. The 34-year-old came up with an outstanding hattrick of assists during PSG's 3-1 over St Etienne.

7:50 PM: Italian reporter claims Messi's friends already know the result

With the rumours on social media suggesting that Lionel Messi is likely to win the award, an Italian reporter named Matte Moreno intensified it with his comment. “Messi, his friends already know,” he stated as he assured everyone that the Argentine is winning Ballon d'Or 2021.

6:50 PM: I think Leo will win Ballon d’Or for sure: Gerard Pique

"I think Leo will win Ballon d’Or for sure. The parameters for this trophy are so distorted that people no longer know what we are valuing. If we are valuing trophies, Jorginho should be the winner but if you value the best player in the world, Leo must be the winner. If it's valuing trophies plus performance plus figures, the winner is also Leo. Leo should have won more than six times," Pique said.

6:15 PM: Muller has no doubt that Lewandowski should win the award

6:00 PM: It will be difficult to overcome Messi - Gary Lineker

Former English footballer Gary Lineker is of the opinion that it is going to be very difficult for any player to overcome Messi for this year's award. "He (Messi) had a great first part of the season and then he won the Copa America with Argentina," Lineker added as he admitted that the Argentine is favourite to win his 7th Ballon d'Or.

5:40 PM: Ferdinand reveals his choice for the winner

“I think this year Lewandowski, yeah. 56 goal involvements in 38 games is ridiculous. Those are Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi numbers,” Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport.

5:15 PM: Lewandowski wins the 'fan vote' 

A 'fan vote' was conducted by Transfermarkt on Instagram where Salah, Messi, Lewandowski and Ronaldo made it to the final four. The results further were as follows:

Semi-finals

Robert Lewandowski defeats Cristiano Ronaldo

Mohamed Salah defeats Lionel Messi

Final

Robert Lewandowski defeats Mohamed Salah

4:30 PM: When is the ceremony scheduled to take place?

The Ballon d'Or 2021 is slated to take place on November 29 at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. The event will be streamed live on L’Equipe’s YouTube channel from 7.30 PM GMT on Monday (1 AM IST on Tuesday).

3:20 PM: Evra congratulates Messi one day before award announcement

2:55 PM: Messi is favourite to clinch his 7th award

As per the reports, Lionel Messi is in line to win his 7th Ballon d'Or ahead of Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski, who are speculated to finish second and third respectively.

The Argentine scored 38 goals for Barcelona in 47 matches as they went on to win Copa del Rey but what is helping his case is notably what he achieved with the national team. Messi helped Argentina end 28-year wait after he led his nation to a historic Copa America title this year.

Nominees for Men's Award (Best Player)

Cesar Azpilicueta, Nicolo Barella, Karim Benzema, Leonardo Bonucci, Kevin De Bruyne, Giorgio Chiellini, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruben Dias, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Bruno Fernandes, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Jorginho, Harry Kane, N’Golo Kante, Simon Kjaer, Robert Lewandowski, Romelu Lukaku, Riyad Mahrez, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Gerard Moreno, Mason Mount, Neymar, Pedri, Mohamed Salah, Raheem Sterling, Luis Suarez.

Nominees for Women's Award (Best Player)

Kadidiatou Diani, Fran Kirby, Jennifer Hermoso, Christiane Endler, Christine Sinclair, Ashley Lawrence, Irene Paredes, Jessie Fleming, Lieke Martens, Sandra Panos, Vivianne Miedema, Ellen White, Pernille Harder, Sam Mewis, Wendie Renard, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Stina Blackstenius, Magdalena Eriksson, Sam Kerr, Alexia Putellas.

Nominees for Kopa Trophy (Best U-21 player) 

Mason Greenwood, Bukayo Saka, Pedri, Jeremy Doku, Ryan Gravenberch, Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Jude Bellingham, Giovanni Reyna, Nuno Mendes.

Nominees for Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper) 

Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ederson, Kasper Schmeichel, Edouard Mendy, Keylor Navas, Emiliano Martínez, Manuel Neuer, Jan Oblak, Samir Handanovic.