Ballon d’Or ‘Leak’ Sees Messi, Ronaldo Miss Out on Award, New Winner Emerges

Ballon d’Or ‘Leak’ Sees Messi, Ronaldo Miss Out on Award, New Winner Emerges

Babajide Orevba
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:51 PM
  • Robert Lewandowski will win the prestigious 2021 Ballon d’Or according to a leaked sheet on social media
  • This year’s ceremony will hold on November 29 and top stars will contend for the coveted prize which Messi won six times
  • The award was cancelled last year due to the spread of the COVID-19 and it was Messi who won the 2019 edition ahead of Van Dijk and Ronaldo

A sheet has leaked online showing Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski as the winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or ahead of 25 other superstars, SPORTbible reports.

The award ceremony for this year will hold on November 29 as that of last year was cancelled due to the spread of the pandemic.

Lionel Messi won the 2019 edition of the award after beating Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to the prestigious award.

Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski could win this year's Ballon d'Or. Photo: Patricia De Melo Moreira
Source: Getty Images

The Argentine who was superb for Barcelona earlier in the year before joining PSG during the summer is also shortlisted for the award.

A leaked sheet has now shown that Lewandowski will win the coveted prize next month ahead of Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema, Mirror reports.

The Polish international is one of the betting favourites to win the award following a prolific spell at Bayern Munich.

He bagged an incredible 41 Bundesliga goals last season and already has 17 goals in all competitions to his name this campaign.

The viral post on social media has Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah in fourth place while Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho comes in at fifth.

Rafa Marquez tips Lewandowski for Ballon d’Or

Meanwhile, ex-Barcelona defender Rafa Marquez has backed Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski to win this year's Ballon d'Or award.

The Mexican says the Polish star has been the most consistent player across competitions so far with the Bavarians favourites to lift the Champions League.

Surprisingly, Marquez shunned Lionel Messi who also inspired his national team to their first title in decades after winning the Copa America title in the summer.

The 42-year-old who shared the dressing room with Messi once again ignored the Argentine as he named legendary Pele as the greatest player in football history.

Frank Lebouef explains why Messi does not deserve Ballon d’Or

Legit.ng earlier reported that Argentine star Lionel Messi has been told he does not deserve to win this year’s Ballon d’Or due to the red card he received in the Spanish club final back in January.

Former Chelsea star Frank Lebouef has compared the situation of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner with that of Zinedine Zidane.

Lebouef disclosed that Zidane was overlooked in 2000 and 2006 due to the red cards he received in those respective years as other players took the coveted prize.

Authors
Babajide Orevba photo
Babajide Orevba
Babajide Orevba is a CAF accredited Nigerian journalist and HOD of the Local Desk with over 10 years of experience in media landscape.He studied NCE Political Science/Social Studies, AOCOED.
Tags
World