Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or trophy for a record-breaking seventh time in a ceremony held at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. Robert Lewandowski finished second, while Jorginho completed the podium.
A panel of 180 international journalists representing different countries and territories chose the winner of the men’s Ballon d’Or.
Online Gambling guided you through all the action live from Paris, as PSG’s Leo Messi and FC Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas were crowned winners of the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or respectively.
You can find all the key moments before and during the ceremony below.
The Eiffel Tower lit up to honor Messi
The Ballon d’Or ceremony finished with Messi lighting up the Eiffel Tower with the push of a button. Epic.
Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or 2021
22.00 Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for a record-breaking seventh time. Historical achievement for the 34-year-old.
Messi took the occasion to thank his family and his colleagues at Barcelona, PSG and the Argentina national team. “Until this year, I always felt something was missing,” Messi said referring to the Copa America triumph in July.
Addressing second-placed Robert Lewandowski, Messi said: “It was an honor to fight with you for this trophy. You deserved to win it last year, you should have a Ballon d’Or trophy for the incredible year you had in 2020.”
21.53 Chelsea get the award for Team of the Year. The Champions League winners couldn’t travel to Paris because of quarantine rules, but joined the ceremony through videoconference.
21.50 It’s down to Messi vs Lewandowski now.
21.40 We’re closer and closer to the moment we’ve been all waiting for. These are the top 5 players in the race for the Ballon d’Or. Who do you think will win?
21.35 Gianluigi Donnarumma is awarded the Yachine Trophy, rewarding the best goalkeeper in the world.
Alexia Putellas won the women’s Ballon d’Or
21.30 Salah and De Bruyne are next in the Ballon d’Or list. The Egyptian came out seventh, with De Bruyne below him.
21.25 Emotional moment at the Chatelet, as Putellas dedicates the trophy to her late father. Her mother and sister contributed with video messages, as Alexia watched from the stage.
21:20 Alexia Putellas wins the women’s Ballon d’Or.
21.05 The first two positions inside the top 10 have been revealed. Donnarumma is tenth, while Mbappe is ninth.
21:00 Robert Lewandoski wins the Striker of the Year award and holds a very nice speech thanking his family and his wife for offering him constant support and their love throughout his career.
20:55 Pedri takes home the first trophy of the evening, the Kopa. 2006 Ballon d’Or winner Fabio Cannavaro handed him the prize rewarding the best young talent in the world.
20.45 Some class drivers for the Ballon d’Or tonight.
20.40 The stars of the show…
20.30 The 2021 Ballon d’Or ceremony started.
The Ballon d’Or 2021 red carpet show live from Paris
20.20 Madness as Messi was making his way to the red carpet at the Chatelet.
20.10 Leo Messi is the last big name to make his way to the Chatelet downtown Paris. Messi is attending the ceremony with his wife Antonella and their three sons.
20.00 Mbappe spoke about the pride of being among the biggest names in French and world football at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
19.50 Luis Suarez and his wife are on the red carpet. FC Barcelona’s delegation arrived minutes earlier as well.
19.40 Robert Lewandowski arrived!
19.35 Any sacrifice to see their idols.
19.30 A young Messi fan hoping to have an autograph from his idol tonight,
19.20 The fans are filling the spaces prepared by the organizers in front of the Chatelet Theatre.
19.10 The trophies are on their way to the Chatelet.
Erling Haaland finished 11th in the vote
19.05 Hundreds of fans are already outside the Chatelet in Paris, in the red carpet area, ready for the players to arrive.
19.00 Robert Lewandowski is ready to leave his hotel. In style.
18.55 Erling Haaland is just outside the Top 10, in 11th place. Romelu Lukaku comes 12th, with Chiellini 13th. His colleague at the heart of Italy’s defense, Bonucci, is right behind him, while Sterling sits 15th.
18.50 Didier Drogba and Sandy Heribert are already nervous ahead of the gala. They went live on L’Equipe channel to talk about the event.
18.35 The last Ballon D’Or trophy awarded, the one in 2019, went to Messi. He beat Virgil Van Dijk by just seven points. Cristiano Ronaldo finished third.
18.30 The Ballon d’Or ceremony kicks off in exactly 2 hours.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not attend the 2021 Ballon d’Or ceremony
18.20 Neymar is just below the top 15 in this year’s Ballon d’Or race. The Brazilian forward sits 16th, above his good friend and former FC Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez. Simon Kjaer, Mason Mount and Riyad Mahrez follow.
18.10 Bruno Fernandes and Lautaro Martinez are tied in 21st place, Kane is 23rd, with Pedri 24th and Foden 25th.
18.05 According to sources in Paris, Cristiano Ronaldo did not travel from Manchester for the ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet.
18.00 Luka Modric and Cesar Azpilicueta are tied in 29th place, with Nicolo Barella, Ruben Dias and Gerard Moreno all with the same number of points in 26th.
17.50 A replica trophy was used at the ceremony rehearsal.
17.40 Sandy Heribert and former Chelsea super striker Didier Drogba will host the ceremony tonight.
17.30 Theatre du Chatelet is ready for the ceremony which will see the 65th Ballon d’Or awarded. And the place looks stunning, ready to greet guests.
17.20 France Football announced they will award two new trophies tonight, outside of the predicted schedule.
17.00 The Ballon d’Or gala will start at 20.30 CET.
- The Ballon d’Or is back. On Monday evening, France Football will announce the winners of both men’s and women’s versions of the most prestigious individual trophy in world football. After a year of absence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ballon d’Or is ready to become the major talking point on Planet Football once again. You can read in-depth about the voting procedure here.
- PSG’s Lionel Messi hopes to take home his seventh Ballon d’Or. His six trophies so far are a world record. Messi’s biggest rival tonight is Bayern’s Polish goal machine Robert Lewandowski, who was the favorite to win it last year, before France Football decided not to hold the vote.Online Gambling journalist Emanuel Rosu, who is also part of the international jury awarding the Ballon d’Or, guided you through all the important facts of the evening live from Paris.