We saw a return of the Ballon D’or awards this year. Even though the award was not held last year, the 2021 Ballon D’or edition turned out to be better than that of 2019.
Here are the player ratings and rankings for the 2021 Ballon D’or. We have also taken out time to enumerate the individual statistics of each of the first ten players on the Ballon D’or list.
10. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-German)
Gianluigi Donnarumma was an exceptional team player on Roberto Mancini’s side that crushed England in Italy’s Euro final penalty shootout that saw them go home with the Euro trophy. From all the basis with which a football player is assessed, it is only right to say that Donnarumma contributed his quota to Italy’s triumph in Euro 2020.
Although his recent move to Paris Saint-German may not have been that favourable to him, yet we cannot fail to appreciate his splendid performance this year.
Donnarumma Statistics In 2021
• 21 clean sheets in. 2021.
• Won Euros in 2021 with Italy.
Ballon D’or Ranking, 10th.
9. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-German)
The Ballon D’or awards come with a lot of surprises, yet these surprises are not entirely unforeseen. Before the end of France’s Euro campaign, Kylian Mbappe didn’t do so well and that earned him a lot of criticisms from football fans, and probably this reduced his Ballon D’or ranking.
The failure of P.S.G to lay their hands on the France League with lots of under-performance before the end of the season, and France’s unfortunate crash-out from Euro 2020, made Mbappe’s chances of winning the Ballon D’or slim. Mbappe is a great player, no doubt, and he is one of the young players we would expect to take football to the level. Below are his statistics for 2021.
Mbappe Statistics In 2021
• Scored 45 goals.
• Gave 22 assists.
• Won the Nations League with France.
• Won Coupe de France and Trophee Des Champions.
Ballon D’or Ranking, 9th.
8. Kelvin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
De Bruyne has been a very exceptional player this year. Being part of the class of players that inspired Manchester City to both Premier League triumph, and Champions League final is no small achievement. One may criticize his recent form or performance on the field of play, but we must put his recent injury setbacks into considerations.
During the International break and Euro 2020 competition, he did pretty well wearing the beautiful colours of Belgium’s national team. His injury crisis hampered his performance when club football resumed this season.
De Bruyne Statistics In 2021
• Scored 14 goals.
• Gave 16 assists.
• Won the English Premier League.
• Won Cardoa cup.
Ballon D’or ranking, 8th.
7. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Liverpool underperformed last season and this was because of the injury crisis they encountered before the beginning of last season. However, Mohamed Salah’s individual brilliance continued even in the midst of Liverpool’s chaos last season. From the inception of this year, he has been magnificent for Liverpool and we have seen him team up with Mane and Fermino to give Liverpool a noteworthy early season performance. From Mohamed Salah’s performance this season, it is not difficult to say he is the best player in football at the moment.
Salah’s Statistics In 2021
• Scored 34 goals.
• Gave 12 assists.
Ballon D’or Ranking, 7th.
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Ronaldo had an amazing season as an individual, but collectively as a team in both Juventus and Portugal, he met with inconsistencies and difficulties. The failure of Portugal to do well in Euro 2020 made it almost impossible for him to win the Ballon D’or.
Juventus crashed out of the Champions League, and towards the end of the season, they were finding it difficult to qualify for the Champions League. This possibly contributed to the reasons why Ronaldo left Juventus for Manchester United.
C. Ronaldo’s Statistics In 2021
• Scored 43 goals.
• Gave 6 assists.
• Won Coppa Italia.
• Won suppercoppa Italiana.
5. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Whether we like it or not, we must admit that without the influence of the one and only N’Golo Kante, Chelsea wouldn’t have won the 2021 Champions League trophy. When you look at Kante’s Champions League performance against a team as phenomenal as Real Madrid, you wouldn’t believe your eyes.
Kante may not have goals and hundreds of assists to his name, but watching him single-handedly stand against a team that has the likes of Modric, Toni Kroos, and Asenso in it would leave you with nothing but respect and admiration for him.
Although in recent times Kante has been battling a few injuries, yet anytime he shows up on the field of play, he bottles up opponent midfielders and keeps them in his shadow. Kante is world-class.
Kante Statistics In 2021
• Scored 2 Goals.
• Gave 1 assist.
• Won the Champions League.
• Won the UEFA Super Cup.
Ballon D’or Ranking, 5th.
4. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Even since Christiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, Benzema rose to the Challenge, has been scoring mind-blowing goals, and providing quality assist to ensure the survival of Real Madrid as a team. At least, in the absence of Real Madrid, they have been able to win the La-Liga trophy inspired by the brilliance of Karim Benzema. So, it is a good thing that Karim Benzema is getting the quality recognition he deserves at the moment.
If Real Madrid had gone past Chelsea in last season’s Champions League semi-finals and probably won against Man City, maybe Benzema would have had more chances of winning the Champions League.
Benzema Statistics In 2021
• Scored 43 goals.
• Gave 14 assists.
• Won UEFA Nations League.
Ballon D’or Ranking, 4th.
3. Jorginho Luiz (Chelsea)
It is no surprise that two Chelsea players made it to the top five Ballon D’or rankings. Chelsea had a jolly good season in Europe and Jorginho contributed much to Chelsea’s successful Champions League campaign last season. Without his near-perfect partnership with Kante in the midfield, Chelsea’s Champions League victory would have been a mere dream of the night.
Jorginho equally went ahead to win Euro 2020 with Italy, a performance that drastically increased his chances of winning the Ballon D’or award. He was voted UEFA’S player of the year and came third in Ballon D’or ranking 2021.
Jorginho Statistics In 2021
• Scored nine goals.
• Gave three assists.
• Won Euro 2021.
• Won the Champions League.
• Won the UEFA Super Cup.
2. Robert Lewandoski (Bayern Munich)
No football who truly understands football rates Lewandoski lowly at the moment. He has been scoring too many goals in recent months, and graciously carried his splendid form into 2021. It was rather unfortunate that the 2020 Ballon D’or was canceled last year and this cost Lewandoski the chance of laying his hands on one of the most prestigious awards in football.
Lewandoski to the dissatisfaction of many football lovers came second. If he had won the Ballon D’or award, it wouldn’t have been a thing of so much surprise to many. He did so well in Bayern’s 2020 Champions League triumph and lost the Ballon D’or due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lewandowski Statistics In 2021
• Scored 64 goals.
• Gave 10 assists.
• Won Bundesliga.
• Won the club world cup.
• Won DFL-Supercup.
Ballon D’or Ranking, 2nd.
1. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-German)
The simple trust is that it is difficult to contend against a player like Lionel Messi. This year, Lionel Messi won the Copa America tournament with Argentina, and in that tournament, he was extremely outstanding for Argentina and provided a staggering eleven goals contribution to help his national team win the trophy.
Even though Barcelona didn’t do well in the UEFA Champions League, we witnessed Lionel Messi dragging a very weak Barcelona team to a close La-Liga triumph. Messi deserves the Ballon D’or considering his Copa America exploits. And one must put into consideration the level of heavy criticisms he has been getting over the years for failing to win an International Trophy win for Argentina’s Senior National team.
Lionel Messi Statistics In 2021
• Scored 41 goals.
• Gave 17 assists.
• Won Copa America.
• Won Copa Del Rey.
Ballon D’or Ranking, 1st.
