The Ballon d'Or award received a lot of attention this year. The Argentine phenomenon Lionel Messi eventually won the coveted award on Monday (November 29) during a gala ceremony at Paris' Theatre du Chatelet. Three days before the main event, the editor-in-chief of France Football, Pascal Ferre said that Cristiano Ronaldo confessed to him that his only ambition is to win more Ballon d'Or titles than Lionel Messi. However, Ronaldo has refuted this claim, accusing Pascal of damaging his reputation. Let's take a look at the actual story. What did Pascal Ferre say about Ronaldo in the New York Times interview? The New York Times published an interview with Pascal Ferre, editor-in-chief of France Football Magazine, three days before the Ballon d'Or 2021 award ceremony. Pascal discussed his career, his plans to host the gala event of the Ballon d'Or, and a variety of other topics, including footballers' perceptions of the prestigious award. The Ballon d'Or award has turned into a means of determining who is the greatest in the modern-day. As a result, the topic of Messi and Ronaldo's rivalry came up during the interview at one point.  Read:Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal may not qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022 “Ronaldo has only one ambition, and that is to retire with more Ballons d’Or than Messi and I know that because he has told me.” Pascal Ferre told the New York Times.    Pascal did not specify when Ronaldo made that statement. However, Cristiano Ronaldo was not happy with such remarks by the chief of France Football Magazine. Messi had won the award six times before 2021, while Ronaldo has won five times. Read: Champions League Group Stage Matchday 6: Potential Teams to secure Round of 16 Cristiano Ronaldo's response to Pascal's statement Manchester United's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacted with anger to Pascal's statement on the day of the main event of the Ballon d'Or 2021. Ronaldo responded with a long Instagram post on his verified account. According to him, Pascal allegedly lied in the interview in order to promote himself and his organization. Ronaldo reaffirmed his respect for France Football Magazine and the Ballon d'Or award. He always extends his congratulations to the recipients of this honor. Ronaldo also stated in the post that his major ambition is to win trophies for his club and the national team on a domestic and international level. He is striving to set an example for young players who wish to be professional footballers. Important to note that, Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or for the last time when he was at Real Madrid in 2017. Read: Juventus turmoil: Raided by police and struggling in Serie A The Ballon d'Or 2021 Gala Event's Winners Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or in 2021 with 613 points. Alexia Putellas of Barcelona won the Feminin Ballon d'Or 2021 with 186 points. Young sensation from Barcelona, Pedri won the Kopa trophy with 89 points. With 594 points, Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma won the Yashin trophy. Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich won the best striker of the year award with 59 points, while Chelsea of England was named the best club of the year.  Bottom Line Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the all-time great footballers. Ronaldo's greatness will not be determined by the number of Ballon d'Or he won throughout his playing career. However, winning the Ballon d'Or is a really remarkable achievement, and every professional player aspires to win it at least once in their career.    Both Messi and Ronaldo have won the award a total of 12 times. It shows how consistent these two players have been over the past 15 years. They can still play at the highest level for two or three years before retiring. Will Cristiano Ronaldo be able to equal Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or tally by this time? Read:Ballon d'Or 2021 Winner: Lionel Messi wins the coveted award record seventh time

After a long wait, Argentina and PSG forward Lionel Messi won the prestigious individual award Ballon d'Or for the year 2021 on Monday (November 29) night in Paris. This is his seventh Ballon d'Or award. He was the recipient of this individual honour in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019. Cristiano Ronaldo has won this award second-most five times after Lionel Messi. The Argentine forward defeated Polish striker Lewandowski by 33 points to be named the Ballon d'Or 2021 Winner. Let’s have a look at the winners of the gala event. The Ballon d'Or Gala Event Winners Aside from the Ballon d'Or, France Football magazine also gave out individual awards to several categories. Ballon d'Or Feminin, Kopa Trophy, Yashin Trophy, Best Striker of the Year, and Best Club of the Year are among the honours. Ballon d'Or 2021 Journalists, national team leaders, and coaches gave Lionel Messi of PSG the most votes (613 points). Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich finished second with 580 points, followed by Italian midfielder Jorginho (460), who won EURO 2020 and the Champions League 2021. French striker of Real Madrid, Karim Benzema (239) came in fourth, while defensive midfielder for Chelsea, N'Golo Kante (186) came in fifth. Among the top ten, Cristiano Ronaldo was sixth in the poll, followed by Mohamed Salah, Kevin de Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe, and Gianluigi Donnarumma. Also Read: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo: Who made the strongest start with the new clubs? Ballon d'Or 2021 (Top 3) Player Club Points Lionel Messi Barcelona & PSG 613 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich 580 Jorginho Chelsea 460    Source: https://www.francefootball.fr/ballon-d-or/  Ballon d'Or Feminin Alexia Putellas of Barcelona won the Feminin Ballon d'Or 2021. She was awarded the highest points of 186. Her clubmate Jennifer Hermoso came in second with 84 points, followed by Sam Kerr of Australia.   Read Champions League Group Stage Matchday 6: Potential Teams to secure Round of 16 Feminin Ballon d'Or 2021 (Top 3) Player Club Points Alexia Putellas Barcelona 186 Jennifer Hermoso Barcelona 84 Sam Kerr Chelsea 46    Source: https://www.francefootball.fr/ballon-d-or/ Kopa Trophy The Kopa award is presented to the most promising young player in the world. We have seen a number of young players thrive with their respective clubs and nations this year. Spanish midfielder for Barcelona Pedri won the prize with the highest 89 points. Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund came in second with 39 points, followed by Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich with 38 points. Read Ind Cup Football: Dhaka Abahani makes good start beating Swadinata KS 2-1 Kopa Trophy (Top 3) Player Club Points Pedri Barcelona 89 Jude Bellingham Borussia Dortmund 39 Jamal Musiala Bayern Munich 38    Source: https://www.francefootball.fr/ballon-d-or/ Yashin Trophy The Yashin trophy is awarded to the best goalie from the previous year. There are several deserving nominees for this honour this year. However, Italy's young goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma beat out everyone with 594 points. Edouard Mendy of Chelsea came in second with 404 points, while Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid came in third. Also Read: Ballon d'Or 2021: Meet the Nominees Yashin Trophy (Top 3) Player Club Points Gianluigi Donnarumma AC Milan & PSG 594 Edouard Mendy Chelsea 404 Jan Oblak Atletico Madrid 155    Source: https://www.francefootball.fr/ballon-d-or/ Best Striker of the Year Bayern Munich's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski was unable to win the Ballon d'Or 2021, but he did not go home empty-handed. Lewandowski was named the top striker of the year with a total of 59 points. This Polish forward has been in excellent form for the past two seasons and deserves to be recognized for his efforts. Best Club of the Year After a poor start to the season, Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea won the Champions League in 2021. This London-based English team rightly received the France football magazine's best club of the year award. Also Read: Ballon d'Or 2021: Five favorites to win the coveted award Bottom Line Lionel Messi helped Argentina win the Copa America 2021 after a 28-year wait. He was outstanding at the South American Championship in 2021, and also had a fantastic season with FC Barcelona in 2020/2021. While Robert Lewandowski, who finished second, had a tremendous season with FC Bayern Munich. However, the majority of voters picked Lionel Messi as Ballon d'Or 2021 Winner.  

The Ballon d'Or has been presenting to the best footballer of the year since 1958. Journalists, coaches, and national team captains vote to choose the best footballer in Europe. The European Football Championship was held this year. A notable number of players from European football leagues competed in Copa America. Apart from those who have performed well in the domestic leagues, individuals who had thrived in these two international tournaments will also be evaluated. We can expect several potential candidates for the 2021 award. Among them are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Ballon d'Or 2021 predictions are discussed in this article. The Probable Contenders for the Coveted Ballon d'Or 2021 Award We have created a list of the top performers this year thus far to find out who could win the prestigious Ballon d'Or 2021 award. Let's have a look at the players who made it onto our list. 10) Luis Suarez (Uruguay&Atletico Madrid) Key achievements in 2021: La Liga Lethal striker Luis Suarez joined Atletico Madrid last season. He played a key role in Atletico Madrid's success. Suarez led his team with 21 La Liga goals in the 2020/2021 season, helping Atletico win their tenth La Liga title. Though Suarez had a quiet Copa America 2021 tournament. Colombia knocked Uruguay out in the quarter-finals. Read:Copa America 2021 Final: Di Maria’s Early Strike Sinks Brazil 09) Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain& Brazil) Key achievements in 2021: Coupe de France &Trophee des Champions Neymar had a good 2020/2021 season with PSG. He helped PSG to win two domestic competitions. Later, he was instrumental in guiding Brazil to the Copa America 2021 final. Neymar was one of the best players in the tournament despite losing the final 1-0 to Argentina. He scored twice and had three assists in the competition. 08) Robert Lewandowski (Germany& Bayern Munich) Key achievements in 2021: Bundesliga &Fifa Club World Cup Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski maintained his goal-scoring abilities In the 2020/2021 season. He scored 41 goals in 29 games for Bayern Munich, helping them win the Bundesliga and the Fifa Club World Cup. Lewandowski scored three goals for Poland in the EURO 2020 tournament, however they finished bottom in their group and were eliminated from the competition. Read:Italy wins Euro 2020, beats England in penalty shootout 07) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal&Juventus) Key achievements in 2021: Coppa Italia &SupercoppaItaliana Cristiano Ronaldo scored most 29 goals in the 2020/2021 Serie A season and helped Juventas to win Coppa Italia &SupercoppaItaliana. Ronaldo also finished top in the most goal scorers chart at EURO 2020 with 5 goals. He's a strong contender for the Ballon d'Or 2021 award. 06) RomeluLukaku (Belgium& Inter Milan) Key achievements in 2021: Serie A Last season, Inter Milan won Serie A for the first time in 11 years, thanks to Belgian striker RomeluLukaku's 24 goals and 11 assists. He has been in fantastic form this year. Lukaku also had four goals in the Euro 2020 competition. Read Racist abuse targets 3 English players who missed penalties 05) Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy, AC Milan, & PSG) Key achievements in 2021: EURO 2020 Gianluigi Donnarumma had the most clean sheets with 14 for AC Milan in the 2020/2021 season. He was a key member of the Milan side that finished second in the league. However, Donnarumma grabbed everyone's attention with his outstanding performances in the EURO 2020 knockout rounds. 04) Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium& Manchester City) Key achievements in 2021: Premier League &Carabao Cup Kevin de Bruyne is the most important player for Manchester City and Belgium. This excellent midfielder assisted Manchester City in winning many titles in the 2020/2021 season. However, Kevin de Bruyne failed to take Belgium to another big international final. Belgium were knocked out of the competition in the quarter-finals. Read:EURO 2020 Final: Italy Seal European Football Championship 03) Jorginho (Italy& Chelsea) Key achievements in 2021: Champions League &EURO 2020 Jorginho is enjoying a fantastic 2021 year. He won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea in May and the EURO 2020 with the Italian national team two months later. He is a gifted midfielder who should be a candidate for the Ballon d'Or 2021 award. 02) N'Golo Kante (France& Chelsea) Key achievements in 2021: Champions League N'Golo Kante was the most important player in Chelsea's 2021 Champions League victory. His contribution to Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals and finals was immense. However, he had a quiet Euro 2020 tournament, as France were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Switzerland. Despite that, Kante remains one of the top contenders for the Ballon d'Or in 2021. Read Messi’s Argentina beats Brazil 1-0, wins Copa America title 01) Lionel Messi (Argentina& Barcelona) Key achievements in 2021: Copa del Rey& Copa America 2021 Lionel Messi has been in incredible form this year. Messi helped Barcelona win the Copa del Ray last season. However, he has emerged as the leading contender for the Ballon d'Or 2021 award following Argentina's Copa America 2021 triumph. Messi was the tournament's top scorer, with four goals and five assists. It will be his seventh Ballon d'Or if he wins. Bottom Line Professional footballers in Europe dream to win the Ballon d'Or award at least once, so this individual honor carries a lot of importance. Chelsea's French midfielder N'Golo Kante was the clear favorite to win the Ballon d'Or 2021 prior to the continental tournaments. However, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Jorginho have emerged as favorites following their outstanding performances in the respective regional championships. This year still has five months left. There might be a lot of twists and turns in the following months and equations could change once again. Read Copa America 2021: Lionel Messi vs Neymar da Silva

The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious annual football award presented by France Football. This magazine has been presenting this award to the best footballer of the year regularly since 1958. At the end of the year, journalists, coaches, and national team captains vote to choose the best footballer in Europe. Every professional footballer's ultimate dream is to win this award. The best players from the clubs that won the Champions League and domestic leagues are usually nominated for the award. The eventual winner is then decided by vote. Who will win the Ballon d'Or 2021 is discussed in this article. The front-runners for the prestigious Ballon d'Or 2021 award We've compiled a list of the best performers so far this year to see who may win the Ballon d'Or 2021 award. Let's take a look at the top 10 players who are on this list. 10) Neymar (Brazil & Paris Saint-Germain) Achievements in 2021:  Coupe de France &Trophee des Champions Brazil's star player Neymar had a decent season with PSG. He was unable to participate in the Champions League quarterfinals due to injury and also failed to assist PSG in winning the domestic league title. Even then, Neymar had shown his charisma in several matches of the 2020/21 season for Paris Saint-Germain.  Read: DPL T20 2021: Marvelous Mominul Shows his T20 Batting Prowess 09) KylianMbappe (Paris Saint-Germain& France) Achievements in 2021: Coupe de France &Trophee des Champions Neymar's teammate KylianMbappe has been in great form this year. Mbappe is scoring regular goals for Paris. Although he could not win any big trophy with PSG, on an individual level he was outstanding.  08) Ruben Dias (Manchester City & Portugal) Achievements in 2021: Premier League & Carabao Cup Portugal's Ruben Dias was Manchester City's top player last season. He was in charge of Manchester's defense last season. Ruben Diaz will be hoping to make an impression during the Euro 2021 tournament for Portugal.  07) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich & Germany) Achievements in 2021: Bundesliga&FifaClub World Cup Bayern Munich's Polish goal machine Robert Lewandowski was in superb form last season. However, Bayern Munich was unable to win anything other than the FIFA Club World Cup at the start of the year and the Bundesliga.  Read: Shakib, Mustafizur unlikely to play in the remainder of IPL 2021 06) Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid & Uruguay) Achievements in 2021: La Liga Uruguay striker Luis Suarez left Barcelona last season to join Atletico Madrid. Suarez won La Liga for Atletico Madrid and made an invaluable contribution in winning the Spanish La Liga trophy for Atletico.  05) Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus& Portugal) Achievements in 2021: Coppa Italia &SupercoppaItaliana Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo had maintained his goal-scoring ability in the last season for Juventas. However, the season did not particularly go well for his club. Juventus confirmed their next season Champions League spot in the last match of the league.  04) Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina) Achievements in 2021: Copa del Rey On an individual level, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is playing well enough this year. He has netted 28 goals this year but Barcelona could not win anything other than the Copa del Rey last season.  03) RomeluLukaku (Inter Milan & Belgium) Achievements in 2021: Serie A Striker RomeluLukaku played a key role in Inter Milan's Serie A triumph last season. He was in magnificent form throughout the last season. So the Belgian striker is one of the prime contenders to win the next Ballon d'Or trophy.  Read: ICC announces major changes to cricket world cup format  02) Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium) Achievements in 2021: Premier League & Carabao Cup Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City is currently one of the top midfielders in the world. Kevin may win the Ballon d'Or award for the first time if he performs well for the national team at Euro 2021.  01) N'GoloKante (Chelsea & France) Achievements in 2021: Champions League Chelsea and France's standout midfielder N'GoloKante knows how to take possession in the middle. His contribution to Chelsea's Champions League victory was crucial. Kante won the best player of the match award three times in a row in the last season CL from the semi-final to the final. So, Kante is one of the hot favorites to win the Ballon d'Or 2021 award.  Bottom Line Winning the Ballon d'Or at least once is the dream of every professional footballer. Because the athlete who receives this award is highly regarded and admired by everyone. Many famous footballers of the world have established themselves as one of the best players in history by winning this award multiple times. The Frenchman N'GoloKante is one of the favorites to win the Ballon d'Or 2021 this year because he was instrumental in Chelsea's Champions League victory. However, the equation may change if any star player does well in the Euro 2021 tournament. Read: DPL T20 2021: Shakib Al Hasan Shines in First Round