- Cristiano Ronaldo missed out on a top-five place for the first time in 2010.
- While Ronaldo is still at five awards, Messi won the last two to take his tally to seven.
- Some fans also did not miss out on an opportunity to troll Ronaldo and Ronaldo fans.
Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Argentina forward Lionel Messi clinched the Ballon d’Or awarded to the best footballer of the year for a record-extending seventh time on Monday evening at Paris. The 34-year-old superstar led Argentina to a historic Copa America win and has scored 40 goals in 2020- 21 for his former club Barcelona, four for his current club PSG and eight for his national team.
Messi edged Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho who completed the top three. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo missed out on a top-five place for the first time in 2010.
“It’s incredible to be here again,” Messi said at the award night held at Paris’s Theatre du Chatelet.
“Two years ago I thought it was the last time. People were starting to ask me when I was going to retire but now I’m here in Paris and very happy,” he added.
“It’s a special year for me with this Copa America title. It meant a lot to win [1-0 against Brazil in the final] at the Maracana stadium and I was so happy to celebrate with the people from Argentina,” he added.
“I don’t know if it’s the best year of my life – I’ve had a long career – but it was a special one with the title with Argentina after the tough times and the criticism,” he further said.
Either Messi or Ronaldo has collected the award every year from 2008 to 2019 except for 2018 when Croatia midfielder Luka Modric won it. While Ronaldo is still at five awards, Messi won the last two to take his tally to seven and now it would be interesting to see how Ronaldo motivates himself to match Messi’s feat.
The duo are known to push each other over the years and even as Messi won the seventh Ballon d’Or and Twitter deservingly hailed him, some fans also did not miss out on an opportunity to troll Ronaldo and Ronaldo fans.
Check out some of the reactions here:
The greatest there ever has been , the greatest there ever will be #GOAT #messiballondor2021 7th #BalondeOro for #Messi pic.twitter.com/4jj8FttWCz
— No War (@livelyreshal) November 30, 2021
No one tells his wife to get out of any photos♥️This guy is a real king♥️pic.twitter.com/k3pQHjM6JL
— Diaz stan (@tashaaa2000) November 30, 2021
CR7 fans tonight!!! #messi #ElChiringuitoDeMega #BalondeOro #LionelMessi pic.twitter.com/H08RR7GhXt
— Bruno Velazquez (@bvm_93) November 30, 2021
Leo Messi says to Robert Lewandowski: “Robert, you deserve your Ballon D'Or. Last year, everyone was in agreement to say that you were the big winner of this award”. 🤝🇦🇷🇵🇱 #Messi #BallonDOr @GFFN
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 29, 2021
#Messi #messi7 #messigoat #BalondeOro #GOAT #BallonDor2021 💥🔥🔥🔥🔥❣ pic.twitter.com/XmjWRkiDTc
— choco (@kk_ragul) November 30, 2021
#BalondeOro again for Messi? This is ridiculous. I thought Robert Lewandoski deserves it this time. Outrageous!#RobertLewandowski #LionelMessi
— Divyesh (@iamdivyesh) November 30, 2021
This is why Messi is the best player of all time pic.twitter.com/XkDhxuEK4E
— 𝕻𝖆𝖚𝖑𝖔 ᶜʳᶠ (@culecrf) November 29, 2021
Unbeatable record for the GOAT. We're coming for LM8 next year after the world cup by the way pic.twitter.com/rLlNJWdN1q
— God of football🇦🇷🐐 (@leogoated30) November 29, 2021
