Revealed: How close Lionel Messi came to missing out on Ballon d’Or & the gap between Man United & Liverpool stars
The official voting figures for the Ballon d’Or have been revealed on Monday night, providing an insight into just how close things proved at the very top of the final rankings.
Messi secures number 7
The headline news across the football world this evening has of course come in the form of the awarding of the latest ‘Golden Ball’.
After France Football’s annual ceremony was cancelled last year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the most sought after individual prize in football was handed out for the first time since 2019.
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi, in the end, reigned supreme, adding a record-breaking 7th Ballon d’Or to his trophy cabinet, amid a star-studded affair in the French capital:
HERE IS THE WINNER!
SEVEN BALLON D’OR FOR LIONEL MESSI! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/U2SywJmruC
— Ballon d’Or #ballondor (@francefootball) November 29, 2021
Rounding out the podium, meanwhile, were Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea’s Champions League and Euro 2020 double winner Jorginho.
Lewy pipped to the post
As alluded to above, though, had a very small number of those to have been trusted with votes for this year’s award opted for Lewandowski over Messi, then things could have been oh so different at Monday’s ceremony…
This comes with an insight into the exact number of points – the ultimately deciding factor in a player’s Ballon d’Or ranking – secured by the top-two having been forthcoming online.
Messi, all told, bagged a total of 613 points.
‘Lewy’, though, was in it right until the last, having garnered just 33 points less, at 580.
Elsewhere, in another of the results to have drummed up much talk, Cristiano Ronaldo edging out Mohamed Salah for 6th spot actually didn’t prove a particularly close affair at all.
In fact, Manchester United’s talisman racked up 178 points, with his Liverpool counterpart some way back, on 121.
OFFICIAL: Lionel Messi won the 2021 Men’s Ballon d’Or with 613 points, finishing 33 ahead of Robert Lewandowski in second place.#BallondOr pic.twitter.com/7OzT3NlhdU
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) November 29, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 13 | 26 | 30 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 13 | 20 | 29 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 13 | 28 | 28 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 13 | 8 | 23 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 13 | -2 | 23 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 13 | 0 | 20 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | -6 | 19 |
| 8 | Manchester United | 13 | -1 | 18 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 13 | -2 | 18 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 13 | -3 | 18 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| 12 | Brentford FC | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 13 | -3 | 16 |
| 14 | Everton FC | 13 | -4 | 15 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 13 | -7 | 14 |
| 16 | Watford FC | 13 | -6 | 13 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 13 | -8 | 12 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 12 | -6 | 9 |
| 19 | Norwich City | 13 | -20 | 9 |
| 20 | Newcastle United | 13 | -14 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 9 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 5 |
| Cornet, Maxwel | Burnley FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 5 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 4 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 4 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 4 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Benteke, Christian | Crystal Palace | 4 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 4 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 6 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 1 | 5 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 0 | 5 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 5 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 5 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Lascelles, Jamaal | Newcastle United | 0 | 5 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 5 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 0 | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 4 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 4 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 0 | 4 |
| Canos, Sergi | Brentford FC | 0 | 4 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 4 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 4 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 4 |
| Normann, Mathias | Norwich City | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 3 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Lowton, Matthew | Burnley FC | 3 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 3 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 3 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 3 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
