Lionel Messi gets the 7th Ballon d’Or Award on Monday

ATLANTA, GEORGIA—Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi once again proved he is one of the best players in the history of professional soccer.
On Monday, Messi won his seventh Ballon d’Or Award in a ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
With his latest accolade, Messi now has two more Ballon d’Or awards than Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, whose tally of five is two more than anyone else.
Messi added to his 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019 trophies with the announcement on Monday, which came after Barcelona Femeni and Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas had won the women’s award.
Messi is very happy and grateful for his latest award.
“It’s incredible to be here again. Two years ago I thought it was the last time. Winning the Copa America was key,” Messi said.
“It is a special year for me with this Copa America title. It meant a lot to win at the Maracana stadium and I was so happy to celebrate with the people from Argentina,” Messi added.
Messi is expected to win more awards in the next few months as he, Portuguese soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazilian soccer hero Neymar lead the nominees for FIFA’s annual awards for best men’s player of the 2020-21 season.
To know the winner, votes from national team captains and coaches, fans, and media worldwide will be collected through Dec. 10.
A virtual ceremony will be held on Jan. 17 remotely, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, from FIFA headquarters in Zurich.