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Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi are in the running for the Ballon d'Or this year. The Ballon d'Or award ceremony is set to be held for the first time since 2019, when Lionel Messi won his by the narrowest of margins ahead of Virgil van Dijk.
The annual award ceremony was skipped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the 2021 edition greatly anticipated.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski biggest names on nominee list
The three high-profile candidates for this year's Ballon d'Or are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski. According to early reports, Lionel Messi will be handed the award for a record-extending seventh time, with his family and friends already informed of the decision.
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In a bid to find out who fans deem deserving of the award, popular football website Transfermarkt.com organized a poll on Instagram. The poll pitted Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Robert Lewandowski against 27 other nominees.
Through the polls, they created a knockout format for the Ballon d'Or nominees, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo receiving byes for the first round. Here are the full details of the Ballon d'Or fan poll, including the draw and winners.
Note: Winners are denoted in Bold
Ballon d'Or poll Round of 32
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United / Portugal) vs Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus / Italy
Winner: Bruno Fernandes.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid / France) vs Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan / Italy).
Winner: Karim Benzema.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City / Belgium) vs Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea / Spain).
Winner: Kevin De Bruyne.
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG / Italy) vs Ruben Dias (Manchester City / Portugal)
Winner: Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund / Norway) vs Phil Foden (Manchester City / England).
Winner: Erling Haaland.
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur / England) vs Jorginho (Chelsea / Italy).
Winner: Harry Kane.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool / Egypt) vs Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus / Italy).
Winner: Mohamed Salah.
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich / Poland) vs Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City / Algeria).
Winner: Robert Lewandowski.
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea / Belgium) vs Luka Modric (Real Madrid / Croatia).
Winner: Romelu Lukaku.
Kylian Mbappe (PSG / France) vs Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan / Argentina).
Winner: Kylian Mbappe.
Pedri (FC Barcelona & Spain) vs Raheem Sterling (Manchester City / England).
Winner: Pedri.
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea / France) vs Gerard Moreno (Villarreal / Spain).
Winner: N'Golo Kante.
Neymar (PSG / Brazil) vs Mason Mount (Chelsea / England).
Winner: Neymar.
Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid / Uruguay) vs Simon Kjaer (AC Milan / Denmark).
Winner: Luis Suarez.
Ballon d'Or poll Round of 16
Lionel Messi vs Bruno Fernandes.
Karim Benzema vs Kevin De Bruyne.
Erling Haaland vs Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Mohamed Salah vs Harry Kane.
Robert Lewandowski vs Romelu Lukaku.
Pedri vs Kylian Mbappe.
N'Golo Kante vs Neymar.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Luis Suarez.
Ballon d'Or poll quarter-finals
Mohamed Salah vs Erling Haaland.
Robert Lewandowski vs Kylian Mbappe.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs N'Golo Kante.
Lionel Messi vs Karim Benzema.
Ballon d'Or poll semi-final: Lionel Messi vs Mohamed Salah
Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi was pitted against Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah in one of the Ballon d'Or semi-finals to determine the finalists.
Six-time Ballon d'Or winner and record holder Lionel Messi won the last edition of the award by a mere 0.3%. Lionel Messi polled 24.4% of the votes, earning him first place ahead of Virgil Van Dijk, who had 24.1%.
Both players have enjoyed a stellar 2021 so far, scaling heights they have never previously scaled. Lionel Messi scored 38 goals and delivered 14 assists for FC Barcelona in 47 appearances, leading them to the Copa del Rey title.
The Argentine forward also led the Copa America in goals and assists as he captained his native Argentina to a first crown since 1993.
Mohamed Salah, on the other hand, scored 31 times and registered six assists in 51 appearances for Liverpool in the 2020-21 season. The Egyptian forward also scored five goals for Egypt in 2021, helping them reach the African Cup of Nations.
Mohamed Salah emerged victorious after the polls, beating Lionel Messi to a place in the final.
Ballon d'Or poll semi-Final: Cristiano Ronaldo vs Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski faced off against Cristiano Ronaldo in the second semi-final. Bayern Munich and Poland striker Lewandowski won FIFA's The Best Men's Player of the Year award in 2020, and the Golden Player of the Year in 2021.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or five times in a stellar career, second only to Lionel Messi. But realistically speaking, he isn't a front-runner for the award in 2021.
Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 29 goals in Serie A to emerge with Capacanoniere as the league's top scorer.
During Euro 2020 with Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals to claim the golden boot as his team were eliminated in the Round of 16.
Upon completing a summer move back to Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo has maintained his form quite well, netting 10 goals in 15 games.
Robert Lewandowski deserved to win the botched Ballon d'Or in 2020, having led Bayern Munich to a treble. The Polish striker did not let that deter him as he scored 48 goals in 40 appearances for Bayern Munich in the 2020-21 season.
He scored 41 of his goals in the Bundesliga, breaking the record for most goals in a single season set by Gerd Muller. Robert Lewandowski also scored three goals in three matches for Poland at Euro 2020 as they were eliminated in the first round.
Lewandowski beat Cristiano Ronaldo to a place in the final at the end of the fan poll. It will not be a surprise if Cristiano Ronaldo endures a similar feat in the real standings too.
Ballon d'Or poll final: Robert Lewandowski vs Mohamed Salah
The final pitted two of the most in-form players in world football at the moment. Robert Lewandowski has had a blistering start to the 2021-22 season, scoring 25 goals and delivering two assists in only 20 matches for Bayern Munich.
Salah has started the season in similar form, scoring 17 goals and delivering seven assists in only 18 matches for Liverpool.
At the end of the poll, it was Robert Lewandowski who emerged victorious with a whopping 68% of the votes, leaving Salah with 32% of the votes.
According to the fans, Lionel Messi should relinquish the Ballon d'Or this year. Robert Lewandowski should come first, Mohamed Salah second, Lionel Messi third, and Cristiano Ronaldo fourth in this year's Ballon d'Or award.
