Lionel Messi won the men’s Ballon d’Or for a record seventh time and Alexia Putellas won the women’s Ballon d’Or on Tuesday.
Messi after receiving the award said, “Today I’m here in Paris. I am very happy, really very happy, I really want to continue to fight and reach new objectives. I don’t know how many more years but I am really enjoying myself. I thank my team-mates at Barça, Paris & Argentina.”
Messi also won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and in 2015.
Awarded by France Football magazine, the Ballon d’Or has been given out to men every year since 1956 when Stanley Matthews won.
Alexia Putellas became the third winner of the women’s award for an outstanding season with Barcelona and Spain.
Spain international Putellas, 27, captained Barcelona to victory in this year’s Champions League, scoring a penalty in the final as her side hammered Chelsea 4-0.
She also won a Spanish league and cup double with Barca, the club she joined as a teenager in 2012 and who are fast becoming the dominant force in the women’s game.
“I’m very emotional, it’s a very special moment,” she said at the Paris ceremony through a translator. “I would like to start by thanking all my teammates, especially my current (Barcelona) teammates. For me it’s a collective success.”
The only previous women’s award winners are Norway striker Ada Hegerberg in 2018, and U.S. forward Megan Rapinoe in 2019. The 2020 awards were canceled because the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the season.
(With inputs from agencies)
