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Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or for a seventh time after being named as the best player in 2021 by France Football.
Messi scored 41 goals and registered 17 assists in 56 appearances in all competitions for club and country and led Argentina to a long-awaited Copa America win in the summer.
He also scored two goals as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in the Copa Del Rey final in April.
After losing seven finals with the national team, Messi collected both the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards as La Albiceleste beat Brazil to win their first trophy since 1993.
It was Messi's first international trophy and his stellar tournament helped propel him to yet another individual prize.
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Messi, who has four goals in nine games for new club Paris Saint-Germain, collected his latest Ballon d'Or at a ceremony hosted by Chelsea legend Didier Drogba at the Theatre du Chatelet in the French capital.
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Introduced by journalist Gabriel Hanot in 1956, the Ballon d'Or has been handed out yearly to the world's best player - with journalists, coaches and captains of national teams all having a say in proceedings.
Messi was the strong favourite this year and beat Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho and Karim Benzema to the award which he also won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019.
Messi was presented the award by his former Barca teammate and close friend Luis Suarez and the Eiffel Tower was lit up for him to celebrate his triumph.
Featured Image Credit: Image: PATopics: Lionel Messi, Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho
