Lionel Messi reveals his Ballon d'Or 2021 vote, says 'there are two for whom I will easily vote'
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi, who is considered as the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or award this year, revealed who he will vote for after France Football announced the names of 30 shortlisted players on Friday (October 8).
Six-time winner Messi and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo are on the list. Apart from the serial favourites, the competition includes Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Karim Benzema, Jorginho and N'Golo Kante who are also considered as leading runners.
However, Messi revealed his Ballon d’Or vote as he was quoted by France Football saying, "In my team, there are two for whom I will easily vote: Ney & Kylian. And then Lewandowski, who has just had a great year. There's also Benzema who has been excellent."
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The prestigious award was not handed out in 2020 due to the pandemic. There are also 20 women in the running for their own prize to be announced in Paris on November 29.
French champions PSG can boast Messi, a winner in the Copa America this summer, and teammates Mbappe and Neymar who last season took the ambitious club to the Champions League last four.
England, the Euro 2020 finalists, are represented by Harry Kane, Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling.
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Among the women, 2019 winner Megan Rapinoe, whose United States team were knocked out of the Olympics in the quarter-finals, was missing from the nominations.
Christine Sinclair, of Olympic gold medal winning Canada, is in the running.
Champions League winners Barcelona are represented by Alexia Putellas, already voted UEFA's best player, and Jennifer Hermoso, joint top-scorer in the Champions League.
(With inputs from agencies)