Lionel Messi is once again a Ballon d’Or winner – but Chelsea can be proud of their top-five representation.
The former Barcelona superstar – who is now plying his trade in France with Paris Saint-Germain – won the prestigious trophy for a staggering seventh time tonight.
Messi, despite turning 34 this year, had another stellar 12 months; he helped Argentina to the Copa America – winning player of the tournament and top scorer along the way – he won La Liga’s top scorer for 2020/21, and won the most man of the match awards in the 2020/21 season … just to name a few.
Chelsea were heavily represented in the award and secured two spots inside the top five through midfield duo N’Golo Kante (5th) and Jorginho (3rd). Another Blues duo made up the top 20 as Romelu Lukaku came 12th – just one place behind Erling Haaland – and Mason Mount scooped 19th.
Cesar Azpilicueta made up the strong Chelsea contingent as he finished joint-29th alongside Croatia superstar Luka Modric.
Tottenham’s sole representation in the award, England striker Harry Kane, finished 23rd on the list, beating Manchester City duo Phil Foden and Ruben Dias.
Chelsea were also awarded the Club of the Year award, while Edouard Mendy came second in the goalkeeper award.
Here is the list in full:
29 = Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
29 = Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
26 = Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
26 = Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
26 = Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
25. Phil Foden (Manchester City)
24. Pedri (Barcelona)
23. Harry Kane (Tottenham)
21 = Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
21 = Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
20. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
19. Mason Mount (Chelsea)
18. Simon Kjaer (AC Milan)
17. Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)
16. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
15. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
14. Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
13. Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
12. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
11. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
10. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
9. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
8. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
7. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
5. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
4. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
3. Jorginho (Chelsea)
2. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
1. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Trophee Kopa (best U21 player): Pedri (Barcelona)
Women’s Ballon d’Or: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper): Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
Club of the Year: Chelsea