Lionel Messi is Confirmed to be the 2021 Ballon d'Or winner

It's been reported that Lionel Messi is confirmed to be the 2021 Ballon d'Or winner and the Argentine himself knows the news that's been spreading.

RTP Sports has announced that Lionel Messi will once again score the iconic Golden Ball this year on 29th November in Paris. If this is the case, it'll be his seventh award which extends the world record for this prestigious ceremony.

The PSG superstar previously did customary interviews with France Football magazine, piping other honoured players, including Erling Håland, Robert Lewandowski and his long-term rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, to what's known as the most prestigious individual award in football.

This year's Golden Globe Ball will rank Messi two ahead of Ronaldo today, earning five balls and four ahead of Johan Cruyff, Michael Platini and Marco van Basten, who have won three Ballon D'Or awards. Read also Messi vs Ronaldo Head-to-Head Showdown in 2021 here.

The prediction for Messi's award indicates that his and Ronaldo's dominance in the Golden Ball will likely extend for a longer period. Luka Modric is the only player to have the recognition in the past 12 years, except in 2020, when every major event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 34-year-old enjoyed another fantastic year after leading his country to his first international title – a Copa American triumph. He was also La Liga's top scorer for Barcelona in the previous season with 30 goals.

Public Opinion on Messi Winning the 2021 Ballon d’Or

Messi made a surprising move back in the summer as he moved to Paris Saint-Germain after a "financial and structural challenge," which caused him to end the deal with Barcelona. He's still fighting for his first goal in Ligue 1 for PSG but found the net three times during this season's 3 Champions League. He scored an excellent individual game against Manchester City and continued it with a brace of 3-2 wins against RB Leipzig.

Marca showed the data for readers' poll for who is likely to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or. Indeed, the results were with Messi in the first place, scoring 34 percent of the vote. Benzema, who was endorsed for the Ballon d'Or by Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo, ranked second with a 26 percent vote. Joining the list after Messi and Benzema on Marca readers' Ballon d'Or is Bayern Munich frontman Robert Lewandowski, who finished third place with 11 percent total votes.

Marca stated that Messi is the 'clear' favorite for the coveted prize in France football without any 'rival.'

Messi Was Listed on France's top 30 for the Ballon d'Or

Spanish newspapers previously put on large endorsement for the Argentine to increase the Ballon d'Or award forward for the likes of N'Golo Kante and Jorginho. Messi was listed on France's top 30 for the Ballon d'Or along with his PSG teammates, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. PSG's head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, said that "without a doubt, the Barcelona star should be worthy of the highly sought-after award."

Pochettino added, "Messi will no doubt win the Ballon d'Or." He also stated that even if he didn't coach Messi, Pochettino would still think he would win the award. "I am speaking from the heart."

Winning the France Football Award

Messi, who lifted his last Ballon d'Or in 2019, admitted that he would be honoured to win the France Football award. He told France football that he doesn't feel like the favourite and he'll never talk about it till the results come out. "It would be magnificent if it happens."

It looks like we'll find out for ourselves, as France Football will announce who will be the next Ballon d'Or winner in Paris at the Theatre du Chatelet on 29th November 2021.