Argentine forward Lionel Messi on Monday night bagged the men’s Ballon d’Or award for a record-extending seventh time at a ceremony in Paris on Monday.
The Paris Saint-Germain player won the last edition of the Ballon d’Or in 2019 before last year’s awards were cancelled due to the pandemic. He also won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and in 2015.
Messi scored 38 goals in 48 games last season for Barcelona and won the Copa del Rey before captaining Argentina to Copa America glory in July.
He has now won the Ballon d’Or twice more than his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo – between them they have won 12 of the last 13 editions with the exception coming in 2018 when Luka Modric claimed the prize.
