France Football have announced the final ranking for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award, with Lionel Messi lifting the Golden Ball for a record-breaking seventh time.
Messi was seen as favourite for this year’s award after leading Argentina to the Copa America title – his first international trophy – and winning the Copa del Rey with FC Barcelona.
In addition, Messi was named Player of the Tournament at the Copa America and had the most goals in the competition, while he also claimed the Pichichi award for the top goal scorer in LaLiga.
Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski can feel hard done by after missing out on the Golden Ball. He was the clear favourite in 2020, but last year’s award didn’t take place.
He still won Bundesliga title, DFL Super Cup and the European Golden Shoe in 2021 and was named the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year in 2019/20 and also FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player, but only finished in second place in the Ballon d’Or.
Jorginho completes the podium ahead of Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, while five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo only finished in sixth place – one ahead of Mohamed Salah.
Full Ballon d’Or ranking
1) Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona/PSG) – 613 points
2) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – 580 points
3) Jorginho (Chelsea) – 460 points
4) Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – 239 points
5) N’Golo Kante (Chelsea) – 186 points
6) Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Manchester United) – 178 points
7) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 121 points
8) Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 73 points
9) Kylian Mbappe (PSG) – 58 points
10) Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan/PSG) – 36 points
11) Erling Haaland (Dortmund)
12) Romelu Lukaku (Inter/Chelsea)
13) Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
14) Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
15) Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
16) Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
17) Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)
18) Simon Kjaer (AC Milan)
19) Mason Mount (Chelsea)
20) Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
21) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
21) Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
23) Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
24) Pedri (FC Barcelona)
25) Phil Foden (Manchester City)
26) Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
26) Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
26) Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
29) Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
29) Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
How did the Ballon d’Or voting work this year?
The 65th Ballon d’Or will be awarded after the vote of a panel of 180 journalists (they were 176 in 2019) with a single representative per country. Voters draw up a list of five players. The first named is awarded six points, the second four, the third three, the fourth two and the fifth one. At the end of the scoring, the player with the highest total of points wins the trophy. In the event of a tie, the number of first places makes it possible to distinguish candidates.
