Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo miss out on top spot as Guardian announce 100 best male footballers of 2021

Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have missed out on top spot for this year’s Guardian best 100 male footballers list.

Instead, Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski has taken the top spot for the second year running despite missing out on the Ballon d’Or 2021. Messi finished second on the list while Ronaldo finished eighth. This is the first time since 2008 that either Ronaldo or Messi have failed to finish in the top three.

Robert Lewandowski finished 2021 with 55 goals and 10 assists for club and country and won the Bundesliga along with the German cup this year.

Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo have had the best of seasons.

Lionel Messi won the Copa del Rey with Barcelona earlier this year. He moved to Paris Saint-Germain before the start of the season. However, he has not enjoyed the best of starts to his Paris Saint-Germain career. He has scored five times in the Champions League but has scored only one goal in 11 Ligue 1 appearances thus far.

Cristiano Ronaldo only won the Coppa Italia at Juventus last season. He then returned to Manchester United this summer. He has been a bit of a lifesaver for Manchester United this season, particularly in the Champions League. He has scored 13 times in 18 appearances this season and will be disappointed with his eighth place finish in Guardian’s list.

Lionel Messi finished as the runner-up with Mohamed Salah, Karim Benzema and Jorginho rounding up the top five.

The era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo beginning to end?

The past year might have signaled the beginning of the end of the longest era of individual player domination. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated the Ballon d'Or stage for 13 years, barring 2018 when Luka Modric won the award.

Lionel Messi won the 2021 Ballon d'Or - his seventh - in November beating Robert Lewandowski to the prize. Cristiano Ronaldo finished seventh this year. He will be frustrated with recent seasons. Ronaldo last won the Ballon d’Or in 2017 and does not look to be part of a squad capable of contending for big titles this season.

Both Manchester United and PSG seem far off from competing for the Champions League this season. Though PSG are better on paper, their performances have been underwhelming.

The Guardian’s list might just be further evidence that the most celebrated individual era in football could be fast coming to an end.