The Argentine forward has reportedly ended first in the rankings of this year’s Ballon d’Or, with the ceremony to be held on Monday.
PSG star Lionel Messi appears to be getting his hands at his seventh Ballon d’Or.
According to The Sun, the former Barcelona forward has ended up first in the rankings of Ballon d’Or 2021 ahead of Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski.
Messi looked a strong contender following his prolific 2020/21 campaign with Barca and Argentina.
The 34-year-old topped the La Liga’s goal and assists charts last season and also led the Blaugrana to Copa del Rey title.
Later, he led the Argentine national team to Copa America glory, thus breaking his trophy drought at the international level.
However, doubts started to emerge over his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or after his slow start to life at PSG.
In the meantime, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema were put on a pedestal following their brilliant form.
Lewandowksi, who was supposed to win the Ballon d’Or last year before it got cancelled, has been making a case for the best player in the world in recent years with his stellar form at Bayern Munich.
Despite not winning any major trophies other than Bundesliga, the Polish striker dominated the league’s scoring charts and broke several records in the process.
The 33-year-old is on another level this season, racking up 23 goals in 18 appearances so far.
Elsewhere in Spain, Karim Benzema has made a greater impact at Real Madrid over the last few seasons.
While being the second-best to Messi in La Liga until the last season, Benzema has now been seen as the best player in the Spanish top-flight.
The French striker has racked 15 goals and 7 assists across all competitions this season and is also leading the goals and assists charts in La Liga.
Nonetheless, Messi’s legacy would only be enhanced with this year’s Ballon d”Or as he would become the first player in history to win the prestigious award for the seventh time.
