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Lionel Messi of Paris St-Germain is adding his seventh Ballon d’Or trophy to his collection after leaving Barcelona a year ago. On the women’s side, Alexia Putellas of Barcelona ranked 1st, earning her first Ballon d’Or. The annual award is presented by French news magazine France Football and is regarded as the most prestigious individual award for a soccer player, it is also one of the oldest.
Messi delivered a speech with the golden trophy in a glittery black tuxedo, “It was indeed a special year for me and of course it helped me in my new stage, in this new stage in my life. This move to PSG. And concerning my family, my kids, well, yes I know that they really do enjoy the moments and I enjoyed to see them happy,” he said. The proud forward continued, “And so do I enjoy seeing my, parents, my cousins, my brothers also happy to see me win this trophy again.” Messi previously won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019. His wife Antonella Roccuzzo and their kids were at the awards to support him.
Putellas is a Spanish midfielder and has played for the Spain national team and captains Primera División club Barcelona since 2012. “I want to thank the club. Destiny wanted this to be the day of its 122nd anniversary. It is a privilege to play for Barca,” the athlete said. She later shared a photo holding her giant gold trophy in what looks like a private jet.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski ranked second and Messi noted during his speech, “He finished the best scorer of the season. Maybe he will win the trophy next year, especially being in such a good club.” Lewandowski didn’t leave empty-handed as he won the Striker of the Year Award.
Ranked second for the women was Putellas Barcelona teammate Jennifer Hermosa. It’s the third time the award has been handed out after being introduced in 2018. Past recipients were Norway‘s Ada Hegerberg (2018) and American Megan Rapinoe (2019).