Lionel Messi, Alexia Putellas win Ballon d’Or awards

After a one-year hiatus, the Ballon d’Or awards are back — with Lionel Messi and Alexia Putellas taking home some major hardware.

Recognizing the best men’s and women’s soccer players from the past year, French news magazine France Football tallied the votes and revealed the winner during a ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

And the stars were out in full force.

The 34-year-old Messi led Argentina to the Copa America title in July after losing in four major international finals.

“I’m very happy to be here, happy to keep fighting for new trophies,” he said through a translator. “I don’t know how many years I have left, but I hope many more. I’d like to thank all my (former) teammates at Barcelona and Argentina.”

Along with the Kopa Trophy — given to the best player under the age of 21 — and the Yashin Trophy — given to the best goalkeeper — the publication unveiled two new awards at Monday’s gala: Club of the Year and Striker of the Year.

The former award goes to the club with the most players nominated, while the latter is for the top scorer for club and country combined.

Here are the winners from the event’s biggest categories:

Men’s Ballon d’Or: Lionel Messi, FW, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain

Other top-five finalists: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Jorginho (Chelsea), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea)

The details: Another year, another top honor for the player many consider to be the GOAT. Messi’s seventh Ballon d’Or extends his own record-setting streak. Messi made headlines all year, switching from the one club he’d known for his entire professional career to join PSG in the summer of 2021. That summer also marked a massive triumph for Messi on the international stage: finally winning a major trophy with Argentina at the Copa América.

Women’s Ballon d’Or: Alexia Putellas, MF, Barcelona

Other top-five finalists: Jennifer Hermoso (Barcelona), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal), Lieke Martens (Barcelona)

The details: The second-leading goal-scorer in Barcelona’s women’s team history, Putellas won her first Ballon d’Or award. The 27-year-old scored 26 goals in 42 games for Barcelona, helping the club win three trophies this year. Her 2021 was also highlighted by becoming the Spanish women’s national team’s most-capped player, topping the previous record of 90 appearances.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)