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#3 Gerard Pique (former teammate of six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi) - Lionel Messi
Gerard Pique, a former teammate of six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, won two continental trebles and countless league and other titles with the Argentine.
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He has seen Messi's prowess from close quarters. Hence, it's unsurprising that Pique thinks his former teammate should win his seventh Ballon d'Or award this year.
Speaking about the 34-year-old's credentials for this year's award, Pique was quoted as saying:
"The Ballon d'Or? If the winner is voted by the criteria, it's Messi. If they choose the best in the world, it's Messi too."
However, there are other strong contenders like Jorginho and Robert Lewandowski in the fray too. The duo played key roles for club and country in winning major titles during the year.
So it remains to be seen if Messi will create more Ballon d'Or history on Monday.
#2 Mason Mount (Ballon d'Or 2021 contender) - Four other contenders
Mason Mount has come of age since breaking into the Chelsea first team in 2019. The 21-year-old has become a key player for club and country.
After winning the Champions League last season with the Blues, Mount was a part of the England team that made the Euro 2020 final, where they lost to Italy. Those exploits earned him a nomination for the 2021 Ballon d'Or award.
However, the young Englishman has picked four other contenders over himself to win the prestigious accolade this year. He said:
"There are a lot of players who can claim it. Like (Robert) Lewandowski, considering the number of goals he has scored and the way he weighs in matches.
"Recently, Mohamed Salah has also been unplayable. And obviously, as a Chelsea player, I'm going to name my club teammates like Jorgi (Jorginho), who won the Euro and the Champions League, as well as NG (N'Golo Kante), who is quite simply one of the best players in the world."
Mount also revealed his delight at being on the same shortlist as Lionel Messi, who is a strong contender to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or award.
#1 Lionel Messi (six-time Ballon d'Or winner) - two other contenders
Lionel Messi is a huge contender to win a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or award this year.
Despite his modest exploits in terms of club trophies in 2021 - Copa Del Rey - Messi won his eighth Pichichi award.
He then bagged four goals and five assists in Argentina's triumphant Copa America 2021 campaign - catapulting him as a frontrunner for the Ballon d'Or award this year.
Nevertheless, when asked about the contenders for this year's award, Messi picked his PSG teammates Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, as well as Robert Lewandowski, 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."
With about 24 hours to go before the 2021 Ballon d'Or winner gets announced, Messi is widely tipped to win this year's award. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen what transpires on Monday.
