2021 Ballon d'Or

2021 Ballon d'Or
2021 Ballon d'Or winner, Lionel Messi
Date	29 November 2021
Location	Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris
Presented by	France Football
Hosted by	Esteban Ocon Fernando Alonso
Highlights
Ballon d'Or	Lionel Messi (7th award)
Ballon d'Or Féminin	Alexia Putellas (1st award)
Kopa Trophy	Pedri (1st award)
Yashin Trophy	Gianluigi Donnarumma (1st award)
Best Striker	Robert Lewandowski (1st award)
Website	ballondor.com
← 2019 · Ballon d'Or · 2022 →

The 2021 Ballon d'Or (lit. '2021 Golden Ball'), was the 65th annual ceremony of the Ballon d'Or, presented by France Football, recognising the best footballers in the world in 2021.

The nominees for the ceremony were announced on 8 October 2021.^[1] Right before the ceremony, France Football announced that along with the Men's and Women's Ballon d'Or, Kopa Trophy and Yashin Trophy, two new awards would be given: the Best Club and Best Striker of the Year.

Lionel Messi won the award for a record-extending seventh time after captaining Argentina to the 2021 Copa America, its first senior international title since 1993.^[2] Robert Lewandowski finished second following his record-setting 41-goal season in the 2020–21 Bundesliga campaign, and Jorginho finished third after contributing to the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Euro 2020 titles.

Ballon d'Or

The nominees for the awards were announced on 8 October 2021.^[1][3]

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Points
1	Lionel Messi	Paris Saint-Germain[a]	613
2	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	580
3	Jorginho	Chelsea	460
4	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	239
5	N'Golo Kanté	Chelsea	186
6	Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United[b]	178
7	Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	121
8	Kevin De Bruyne	Manchester City	73
9	Kylian Mbappé	Paris Saint-Germain	58
10	Gianluigi Donnarumma	Paris Saint-Germain[c]	36
11	Erling Haaland	Borussia Dortmund	33
12	Romelu Lukaku	Chelsea[d]	26
	Giorgio Chiellini	Juventus
14	Leonardo Bonucci	Juventus	18
15	Raheem Sterling	Manchester City	10
16	Neymar	Paris Saint-Germain	9
17	Luis Suárez	Atlético Madrid	8
	Simon Kjær	Milan
19	Mason Mount	Chelsea	7
	Riyad Mahrez	Manchester City
21	Bruno Fernandes	Manchester United	6
	Lautaro Martínez	Inter Milan
23	Harry Kane	Tottenham Hotspur	4
24	Pedri	Barcelona	3
25	Phil Foden	Manchester City	2
26	Gerard Moreno	Villarreal	1
	Nicolò Barella	Inter Milan
	Rúben Dias	Manchester City
29	Luka Modrić	Real Madrid	0
	Cesar Azpilicueta	Chelsea

Ballon d'Or Féminin

Main article: Ballon d'Or Féminin

The shortlist for the awards were announced on 8 October 2021.^[4]

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Points
1	Alexia Putellas	Barcelona	186
2	Jennifer Hermoso	Barcelona	84
3	Sam Kerr	Chelsea	46
4	Vivianne Miedema	Arsenal	46
5	Lieke Martens	Barcelona	40
6	Christine Sinclair	Portland Thorns	36
7	Pernille Harder	Chelsea	33
8	Ashley Lawrence	Paris Saint-Germain	26
9	Jessie Fleming	Chelsea	25
10	Fran Kirby	Chelsea	22
11	Magdalena Eriksson	Chelsea	20
12	Christiane Endler	Paris Saint-Germain Lyon	19
13	Stina Blackstenius	BK Häcken	10
14	Sam Mewis	Manchester City North Carolina Courage	8
15	Irene Paredes	Paris Saint-Germain Barcelona	8
16	Ellen White	Manchester City	4
17	Kadidiatou Diani	Paris Saint-Germain	3
18	Marie-Antoinette Katoto	Paris Saint-Germain	3
19	Sandra Paños	Barcelona	3
20	Wendie Renard	Lyon	2

Kopa Trophy

Main article: Kopa Trophy

The nominees for the awards were announced on 8 October 2021.^[5]

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Points
1	Pedri	Barcelona	89
2	Jude Bellingham	Borussia Dortmund	39
3	Jamal Musiala	Bayern Munich	38
4	Nuno Mendes	Sporting CP Paris Saint-Germain	23
5	Mason Greenwood	Manchester United	15
6	Bukayo Saka	Arsenal	8
7	Florian Wirtz	Bayer Leverkusen	8
8	Ryan Gravenberch	Ajax	3
9	Giovanni Reyna	Borussia Dortmund	1
	Jérémy Doku	Rennes

Yashin Trophy

Main article: Yashin Trophy

The nominees for the awards were announced on 8 October 2021.^[6]

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Points
1	Gianluigi Donnarumma	Milan Paris Saint-Germain	594
2	Édouard Mendy	Chelsea	404
3	Jan Oblak	Atlético Madrid	155
4	Ederson	Manchester City	93
5	Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	91
6	Emiliano Martínez	Aston Villa	90
7	Kasper Schmeichel	Leicester City	76
8	Thibaut Courtois	Real Madrid	29
	Keylor Navas	Paris Saint-Germain
10	Samir Handanović	Inter Milan	8

Striker of the Year

Main article: Gerd Müller Trophy

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Total goals
1	Robert Lewandowski[7]	Bayern Munich	64

Club of the Year

Rank	Club	Total players	Men	Women
1	Chelsea[8]	10	5	5

References

1. "La liste complète des nommés pour le Ballon d'Or 2021" [The full list of nominees for the 2021 Ballon d'Or] (in French). L'Équipe. 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
2. "Top scorer, best goalkeeper, player of the tournament and Fair Play award at the CONMEBOL Copa America 2021". 14 July 2021. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
3. "Le classement du Ballon d'Or «France Football» 2021" [The 2021 Ballon d'Or "France Football" ranking] (in French). L'Équipe. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
4. "La liste des nommées pour le Ballon d'Or féminin" [The list of nominees for the Women's Ballon d'Or] (in French). L'Équipe. 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
5. "La liste des nommés pour le Trophée Kopa" [The list of nominees for the Kopa Trophy] (in French). L'Équipe. 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
6. "La liste des nommés pour le Trophée Yachine 2021 du meilleur gardien de but de l'année" [The list of nominees for the 2021 Yachine Trophy for the best goalkeeper of the year] (in French). L'Équipe. 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
7. Murray, Scott (29 November 2021). "Ballon d'Or 2021 – live updates!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
8. "Chelsea sacré club de l'année" [Chelsea crowned club of the year] (in French). L'Équipe. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.

1. Messi was signed by Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona after the end of season.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Manchester United from Juventus after the end of season.
3. Donnarumma was signed by Paris Saint-Germain from Milan after the end of season.
4. Lukaku was signed by Chelsea from Inter Milan after the end of season.