What is the Ballon d’Or?
The Ballon d’Or is a football award given to the best football player during the year. It is regarded as a very honored award for football players. How do you win the Ballon d’Or you might ask? Well, each jury member has to select the top five players. After that, the player that receives the most number of points is awarded the Ballon d’Or. This esteemed event began in 1956, and is held in Théâtre du Châtelet, France. It has a capacity of 2010 people!
When is the Ballon d’Or winner usually announced?
The Ballon d’Or winner is traditionally announced in December. Though, this year (2021) the Ballon d’Or winner was announced late November, November 29.
Who won the 2021 Ballon d’Or?
This year’s Ballon d’Or winner was… LIONEL MESSI. This is his seventh Ballon d’Or so far. He won the other six back in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019. He won by 613 points.
Lionel Messi is considered to be one of the best players in the world. He is an Argentinian football player that currently plays for PSG. He has won the Copa America with Argentina, which was his first-ever international trophy, for his involvement in the game on the 11th of July 2021. In the game, Argentina had won 1:0 against Brazil, with his fellow player Di Maria scoring a lovely volley above Ederson. Argentina also won the Copa Del Rey on April 17, 2021, against Athletic Bilbao with a smashing 4:0. Griezmann scored the opening goal in the 60th minute, and after 3 minutes, Frenkie De Jong scored the second goal. In the 68th minute Messi scored an amazing solo goal with the help of Frenkie De Jong. The keeper couldn’t do anything; he simply watched the ball go into the back of the net. Finally, in the 72nd minute Messi scored the last goal, assisted by Jordi Alba.
The Ballon d’Or Féminin award, which is the Ballon d’Or for females, was awarded to Alexia Putellas. Alexia Putellas is a Spanish footballer that plays as a midfielder for the Spain National Team, and in the Primera División club Barcelona.
The Kopa Trophy, which is an award for the best performing player under the age of 21, was awarded to the Spanish Central Midfielder Pedri, who also plays in Barcelona. “I want to thank Barcelona, the people who have supported me, the captains like Messi,” said Pedri. “Thank you for helping me.”
The Yashin Trophy, the best performing goalkeeper, was allocated to the Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. This 1.96m player plays as a goalkeeper for Paris Saint Germain (PSG). In the Italy National Squad, he was the star in Italy’s run to win the Euro 2021 title.
Press this link! If you watched this video, it said that Bayern will be very angry in the Champions League game, which was held on the 8th of December. Actually, Bayern did win 3:0 against Barcelona. Now, Barcelona are in the Europa League. The last time they were in the Europa League was in the 2003/2004 season.
What about the 2020 Ballon d’Or winner?
Messi won the last Ballon d’Or presented in 2019. The 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Lewandowski was widely believed to be the likely winner. And as we know, Messi won the 2021 Ballon d’Or too! After Messi won it, he said, “I also want to tell Robert Lewandowski that it is an honor for me to fight against him. I think that you deserve your Ballon d’Or. Last year everybody agreed that you were the winner, and I think that France Football should give you the Ballon d’Or that you deserve and have it as you deserve it. And you won last year, so I hope France Football can do it, and you can have it in your home because you were just the winner. It couldn’t be done because of the pandemic, but I think you should have it in your house too.”
