01 December,2021 06:34 AM IST | Paris | AFP
Lionel Messi with the Ballon d’Or trophy on Monday
Lionel Messi admitted winning the Copa America with Argentina might have been the determining factor in him claiming the men's Ballon d'Or prize for the seventh time after a turbulent year, as Spain's Alexia Putellas took the women's award Now 34, Messi pipped much-fancied rivals like Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema to take the award in a glittering ceremony on Monday in Paris, the city he now calls home after leaving boyhood club Barcelona for PSG in August.
Despite his tearful goodbye from Barcelona and his relatively underwhelming start to life in France, the jury of journalists from around the world rewarded him in particular for captaining Argentina to their first major international title since 1993.
"Two years ago I thought I was coming into my final years, but here I am again back here," said Messi.
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"People were starting to ask me when I was going to retire, but now I am here in Paris and I am very happy," he said at the Chatelet Theatre in central Paris, where he was joined by his wife Antonella Roccuzzo and their three children.
"I think I won this trophy thanks to what we did at the Copa America, so I dedicate it to my teammates." Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in the final in Rio de Janeiro as Messi won a major title with his country for the first time.
This is just the third year that a women's Ballon d'Or has been awarded, with Putellas following in the footsteps of Norway's Ada Hegerberg, winner in 2018, and the United States' 2019 World Cup superstar Megan Rapinoe.
Best Striker of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Kopa Trophy (best U-19 player): Pedri
Yashin Trophy: Gianluigi Donnarumma
Club of the Year: Chelsea
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