The race for being the best player in the world went on through the year and as the votes are done, we are less than one month away from knowing who is going to win the most coveted individual glory in football- the Ballon d’Or.
However, the competition this year looks most fierce than ever. No one can be hailed as clear favourites even after 11 months of the judgement.
But according to many critics, one certain Argentine has got the edge over all the others. Is it hard to guess? It is Lionel Messi.
This Argentine magician enjoyed a phenomenal year-- a usual one to his standards, with both club and country. Here we are going to point out his performances and why he is the most preferred to win the Ballon d'Or.
Above everything comes his achievements with the Argentina national team - a glory which Lionel Messi himself will consider as his greatest ever.
After failing in 4 finals, he finally got over the finishing line. It was the first international trophy for himself and for Argentina in 28 years. He was the top scorer, top assist provider and also the best player in the tournament deservingly.
His team is also unbeaten throughout the year as he has led from the front scoring 9 goals with 5 assists from the 15 matches he played. Clearly, this is his best year in Argentine jersey.
Team-wise, he didn’t have much success for his former club FC Barcelona -- Copa Del Rey triumph, Runner-up in Supercup, Third place in the league and a second-round exit from the UCL.
But his personal accolades could not be matched by others. He became the top scorer of La Liga with 30 goals, 23 of which were in this calendar year.
He also had 9 assists, 8 of which came this year. He had 3 goals and an assist in the Copa Del Rey, two of which were in the finals. In the UCL, Messi scored 5 goals this year. Since his move to PSG, he is still waiting for his first Ligue 1 goal. But he has already made the difference on two occasions against Manchester City and RB Leipzig in the UCL.
Overall Lionel Messi scored 40 goals and assisted 14 times in 51 appearances in 2021 itself. On top of that, He won his most desired international trophy for Argentina with a Copa Del Rey with the club.
He has the Pichichi, Golden Ball and Golden Boot in Copa America. In a normal case, this would have been enough to win the Balon d'Or. But such neck-and-neck is the competition this year that one cannot guarantee Mess’s triumph this year.
But with such phenomenal numbers, Lionel Messi might get the edge and become the first player to win 7 Ballon d’Or.
