The 2021 Ballon d’Or was a close contest between Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi. The Polish striker had an incredible season last year, for both club and country. However, the Argentinian legend won the award, his seventh Ballon d’Or specifically, after lifting his first major international trophy with the national side. Undoubtedly, the Copa America title was pivotal in his Ballon d’Or win.

Likewise, fans and pundits dubbed this year’s voting race to go down to the wire. Notably, Messi won the award, edging past his counterpart to a minor difference in voting points. However, as for the other GOAT, where did Ronaldo finish in the Ballon d’Or list?

Lionel Messi wins his seventh Ballon d’Or

With Ronaldo’s Manchester United struggling this season, the Portuguese forward has dropped in the Ballon d’Or ranks. He finished sixth on the list with 178 points, while Messi received 613 points. A significant gap of 435 points separated the two GOATs.

As for Lewandowski, he received 580 points, losing the prestigious award to Messi by 33 points.

The voting group involves a lot of nations, with their national team’s manager, captain, and a leading sports journalist of that country. The first-place vote receives three points, the second gets two, while the third vote gets one point.

After his incredible performances in the Copa America tournament, Messi was the outright favorite to win the award. However, the path to success was not easy, as Lewandowski made a strong claim to win it in 2021.

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An incredibly tight affair

This year’s Ballon d’Or race was a close affair. Even though Lewandowski had an incredible season, Messi took home the award, leaving a few fans puzzled. The gap of 33 points speaks volumes of Robert’s caliber last season. Notably, this is the third time that the Ballon d’Or was tightly contested.

During the 2019 awards nominees, Messi claimed the award by beating Virgil van Dijk with just a seven-point difference. Earlier, Kevin Keegan and Alfredo Di Stefano were runner-ups, too, who lost the award by just three points.

None can deny that Lionel Messi deserved the award more than anyone. Ending a long-awaited dream, he guided Argentina to the Copa America title, also becoming the top player, top scorer, and the top assist maker of the tournament. Seventh-heaven for Lionel Messi, he continues to prove himself as the greatest footballer of all time.

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