Lionel Messi WINS A Record Seventh Ballon d'Or, While Alexia Putellas Wins The Women's Award.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi, has just won the Ballon d'Or title for a record SEVENTH-TIME, that's two more than his closest rival in world football Cristiano Ronaldo. 

The Argentine star who left Barcelona for PSG on a free transfer in August, was presented with the award on Monday night in Paris, after another record-breaking performance for club and country.

Messi was announced the winner of the award for the seventh-time in 14 years (2009, 2010, 2011,2012, 2015, 2019 and now 2022) with 613 votes. He saw off competitions from Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski with 580, Chelsea midfielder Jorginho (460), Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema in fourth (239), and Chelsea's midfieder N'Golo Kante in fifth position with (185) respectively.

You may recall that CloudNine Sports had reported the 2020 edition of the prestigious annual award did not hold for the first time in history last year since its inception in 1956 due to the to the global health crisis caused by coronavirus.

Bayern Munich and Poland forward Lewandowski was a a top favorite to have clinched the award last year, after scoring 47 goals in 44 matches matches that saw him win the European Golden shoe and winning the quintuple for the Bavarians last season ( Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, German Super Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and the Club World Cup).

The 33-year-old continued in his blistering form from last season, as he has already scored 64 goals in 54 matches for both club and country this year but was not given a Ballon d'Or.

Jorginho was key to Chelsea's Champions League win in May, as well as helping his country Italy to achieve glory in the Euro 2020.

Chelsea also won the club of the year award for having most players nominated across all of the categories.

Lionel Messi who attended Monday's event alongside his beautiful wife Antonella Roccuzzo and three sons (Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro) said after receiving the award;

"It's amazing to be here again. 2 years ago, I thought it would be my last years, I didn't know what was going to happen, and here I am again in front of you. I don't know how many more years I have ahead of me, but I hope there will be many more.

"I'm really proud to win the France Football Ballon d'Or once again," 

"It's incredible to win it for the seventh time. I would like to thank my family, my friends and all the people who follow me and always support me, because without them I couldn't have done it".

"I would like to mention Robert Lewandowski, it’s been a real honour to compete with you. Everyone knows and we agree that you were the winner last year. I think France Football should award you your 2020 Ballon d'Or - you deserve it and you should have it at home."

"My best prize was in June, that's what I wanted since I started playing with the team. I want to dedicate this Ballon d'Or to all my teammates with whom we did this."

Since the beginning of last season, Messi has directly contributed to 59 goals in 58 matches, in all competitions.

The 34-year-old ended his long wait for a major international trophy by winning the 2021 Copa America with Argentina as they beat hosts Brazil in the final.

Messi shared the Player of the Tournament prize with club-mate Neymar and took home the Golden Boot after registering four goals and five assists.

Before joining PSG in the summer, Messi scored twice in the Copa del Rey final to win his 34th and final trophy with Barcelona as they beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0 and finished the La Liga season as top scorer with 30 goals.

THE 2021 MEN’S BALLON D'OR FULL RANKINGS:

29th | Modrić, Azpilicueta

26th | Barella, Dias, Moreno

25th | Foden

24th | Pedri

23rd | Kane

21st | Martínez, Fernandes

20th | Mahrez

19th | Mount

18th | Kjær

17th | Suárez

16th | Neymar

15th | Sterling

14th | Bonucci

13th | Chiellini

12th | Lukaku

11th | Haaland

10th | Donnarumma

9th | Mbappé

8th | De Bruyne

7th | Salah

6th | Ronaldo

10th | Donnarumma 🇮🇹

9th | Mbappé 🇫🇷

8th | De Bruyne 🇧🇪

7th | Salah 🇪🇬

6th | Ronaldo 🇵🇹

5th | Kante 🇫🇷

4th | Benzema 🇫🇷

3rd | Jorginho 🇮🇹

2nd | Lewandowski 🇵🇱

1st | Messi 🇦🇷

THE WOMEN’S BALLON D'OR WINNER:

Barcelona Femení Captain Alexia Putellas emerged as the best women's football player in the world. 

The Spanish midfielder was given her first Ballon d'Or crown after having a sensational season with the Barcelona's women team.

Putellas helped her team to the league cup and their first ever Champions League triumph this year.

Her Barca team-mate Jennifer Hermoso was second, with Chelsea forward Sam Kerr third and Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema fourth.

The 27-year-old, was the highest-scoring midfielder in Europe with 26 goals across all competitions last season which saw her being named the UEFA's Women's Player of the Year and midfielder of the year.

  

"I'm very emotional, it's a very special moment... She said after clinching the award

"I would like to start by thanking all my team-mates, especially my current Barcelona team-mates. For me it's a collective success."

The Women's Ballon d'Or, which was inaugurated in 2018, has only been won by Norway striker Ada Hegerberg in it's maiden edition and USA forward Megan Rapinoe in 2019.