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The 30-man shortlist for the 2021 Ballon d'Or award comprises former winners, experienced campaigners and greenhorns.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have once again been among the goals for club and country this year. Though neither man won a league title this year, the former Ballon d'Or winners are still going strong despite being on the wrong side of thirty.
Meanwhile, the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema have also been nominated for this year's Ballon d'Or award. Elsewhere, Chelsea's Jorginho, though not being a prolific goalscorer for club and country, is also being touted for the Ballon d'Or title this year.
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The Ballon d'Or award has generally favored attackers, a trend that could continue this year too. On that note, here's a look at the six Ballon d'Or 2021 contenders with the most goals for club and country this year.
Note: All stats are as per Transfermarkt unless mentioned otherwise.
#6 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt) - 32
Mohamed Salah has been on a tear since the start of the season. The Egyptian ace has already scored 15 goals across competitions this season, plundering 10 in the Premier League and five in the Champions League.
Salah was the lone bright spark in Liverpool's disastrous 2020-21 campaign, scoring 31 times across competitions, including 12 this year. This campaign, he is on course for the best season of his career.
The winger, who has scored twice for Egypt this year, has scored in a record 10 consecutive games across competitions for Liverpool. During this run, Salah became the first visiting player to score a Premier League hat-trick at Old Trafford.
Thanks to his blistering form, Liverpool are the only unbeaten English top-flight team this season. However, Salah's indifferent form in international football may stand in his way of a maiden Ballon d'Or win.
#5 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/France) - 40
Karim Benzema is aging like fine wine. The 33-year-old has seemingly continued from where he left off last season (29 goals across competitions).
The Real Madrid veteran has bagged 13 goals and eight assists across competitions this season. Thanks to his exploits, Los Blancos are second in the La Liga table and atop their Champions League group.
Benzema has also sizzled on his return to the international fold this summer, scoring six competitive goals. He scored four times at Euro 2020, before netting in the semis and final in France's victorious UEFA Nations League campaign.
He recently bagged a brace in the win against Kazakhstan, which confirmed France's berth at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Benzema also scored in already-qualified France's 2-0 win at Finland in their last qualifying game.
The Frenchman is a strong contender for this year's Ballon d'Or award. But the absence of a major title in 2021 could see Benzema miss out on the prestigious accolade.
#4 Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain/Argentina) - 40
Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is once again a frontrunner for this year's prestigious award.
Despite failing to win a league title for the second year running, Messi scored 30 La Liga goals to win a record-extending eighth Pichichi award.
The Argentinian then broke his international duck with the Albiceleste, bagging four goals and five assists in their victorious Copa America 2021 campaign.
Now at PSG, Messi has scored thrice in as many games in the Champions League, despite going scoreless in five Ligue 1 outings.
Despite making his worst start to a league campaign in more than a decade, Messi might have already done enough to win a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or award this year.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal) - 42
Cristiano Ronaldo has hit the ground running on his return to Manchester United after more than a decade. The 36-year-old has netted nine times across competitions, with most of the strikes being equalizers or late winners.
He returned to the Premier League after 12 years following a Capocannoniere-winning campaign with Juventus, scoring 29 goals. However, his exploits weren't enough as the Bianconeri failed to win the Serie A title for the first time in a decade.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has absolutely sizzled in international football this year. He scored five times in Portugal's rather limp title defense at Euro 2020. The Portuguese (115) then became the most prolific scorer in men's international football.
Ronaldo drew blanks in the last two games of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers as Portugal were beaten 2-1 by Serbia to miss out on direct qualification.
Despite his impressive form, Ronaldo's lack of a major title this year means it would be a surprise if he lands a record-equalling sixth Ballon d'Or award.
#2 Kylian Mbappe (PSG/France) - 43
Kylian Mbappe has been in sparkling form this year. Once again, he has lived up to the hype of being one of the most exciting young attackers in the game at the moment.
Unfortunately, he had no major title to show for his 42-goal campaign last season. That's because holders PSG were pipped to the Ligue 1 title by Lille, while the Parisians lost to Manchester City in the Champions League semis.
Mbappe drew a rare blank at Euro 2020. He missed the decisive spot-kick in the Round-of-16 shootout against Switzerland. that dumped Les Bleus out of the tournament. Nevertheless, he bounced back with two strikes in France's victorious Nations League campaign.
After an uncharacteristically quiet start to his 2021-22 campaign, Mbappe has exploded to life in national team colors. He scored four times against Kazakhstan, becoming the first Frenchman since a certain Just Fontaine to score a competitive quadruple.
Those were his first goals in the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualification campaign. But they couldn't have gone at a more opportune time, as Les Bleus qualified for the quadrennial tournament with a game to spare.
Mbappe was on the scoresheet in France's 2-0 win at Finland in their last qualifying game, a dead rubber. However, the lack of a major title this year means Mbappe is unlikely to win his maiden Ballon d'Or award this year.
#1 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Germany) - 61
Robert Lewandowski is the hottest striker on the planet at the moment. The Bayern Munich marksman has netted exactly 50 times across competitions for his club, and a further 11 strikes for Poland this year.
Lewandowski had a record-breaking 2020-21 campaign, breaking the late Gerd Muller's five-decade-old record for most goals (50) in a Bundesliga campaign. He has been on a tear this season, already up to 20 goals across competitions.
He played a key role in Bayern's treble-winning campaign last year. The Pole was the overwhelming favorite for last year's Ballon d'Or award, but it got scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not one to feel hard done by, Lewandowski has put together another blistering campaign this year. Considering his exploits and major titles, Lewandowski will be a deserving winner of the Ballon d'Or award in 2021.
