The race for the Golden Ball is soon coming to an end

The race for the Golden Ball is soon coming to an end

Not long before the ceremony for the Golden Ball to take place, the list with the final rankings was leaked on the internet and became viral straight away. The 2021 trophy will be awarded on November the 29th in Paris.

If some data leaked in the online media is true, Robert Lewandowski would become the winner of the Golden Ball this year, the first of his career! Robert Lewandowski won the FIFA Best player trophy last year, when the Golden Ball was not awarded, and maintained his extraordinary level in 2021, a reason for many football specialists to consider him a favorite to win the trophy offered by France Football.

The Polish striker has 23 goals in the 17 matches played this season, in the Bayern Munich shirt. He did not have a bad year considering he broke a historical record in the Bundesliga, managing to score 41 goals in a single championship season, with one more than Gerd Muller managed in 1971/1972 season. Lewandowski won a new German champion title trophy at the end of last season, the ninth of his career.

Another strong candidate for this prestigious trophy is Jorginho - he won EURO 2020 with the Italian national team and the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea.

The Italo-Brazilian Jorginho, believes that if he will be the winner of the Golden Ball, then this would be a very good example for footballers who are not exceptional figures in terms of goals scored: "I don't have too many expectations, but I would be lying to say that I don't think about the Golden Ball. It would be great if it happened, but if it doesn't, I won't complain. I'll keep my feet on the ground and I will focus on something else.’’

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) and Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) have had excellent evolutions this season and they are also among the footballers who can hope for the trophy. Karim Benzema would get a podium as he is ranked third according to the leaked information.

But the player who has always been at the top in this competition for a long time is Lionel Messi, who was seen with the first chance earlier this year, mainly due to winning the America's Cup with Argentina, the first international trophy for him, appears in the "leaked names" ranking on the internet in second place.

What will happen then? The Portuguese national television station RTP claims that Leo Messi has already given the interview to the winner for France Football magazine! It would be the 7th Ballon d'Or of the Argentine.

Even though, in recent weeks, there have been rumors and even an unofficial ranking indicating that Robert Lewandowski will get his hands on his first Golden Ball, it seems that the Pole is not the best footballer of the year in the France Football investigation!

The last Golden Ball player was also won by the 34-year-old Argentine striker in 2019. In 2020, the trophy was not awarded due to the pandemic of COVID-19.

In an interview with the Spaniards from Sport a few days ago, Messi spoke about the possibility of winning the Golden Ball and said that it would be something extraordinary, a madness, to win the seventh Golden Ball in his career. "If I win the Golden Ball it would be great for everything it means to win another one, the seventh one would be crazy! If I don't win, it's not a problem. I managed to achieve one of my biggest goals. I'm very happy for what happened, and now I will let it happen furthermore, "Messi told SPORT.

Messi's figures in 2021 were fabulous though. He managed 38 goals and 14 assists in 47 matches for FC Barcelona, won the Spanish King’s Cup plus he also won the Copa America, his first major trophy with the Argentine national team. Moreover, Messi was also the scorer but also the designated best player of the competition.

In PSG's shirt, Messi did not impress in Ligue 1, but he did show good form in the Champions League, where he scored 3 goals in as many matches played.

If we go back to look at the Golden Ball results in 2019, then the Argentine defeated Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool's defender. Then, Messi's victory was contested, because van Dijk had the major trophies on his side, especially the UEFA Champions League winner's medal.

Whoever wins, it will be well deserved as Lewandovski,Jorginho and Messi showed great form through 2021. The odds for Messi are 1,6 while Jorginho has odds of 7 and Lewandovski has odds of 3,5. Soon we will find out!