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#3 Seventh Ballon d'Or for Lionel Messi
There could not have been a better way for Lionel Messi to end 2021 than lifting the Ballon d'Or for the seventh time in his career. Messi fought off tough competition against Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski as he bagged the top spot in the voting by just 33 points.
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Many were unhappy with the 34-year-old lifting the Golden Ball with just two trophies to his name this year. He also finished 11 goals behind Lewandowski in the European Golden Shoe rankings.
Lionel Messi's first major international trophy at the Copa America in the summer helped sway a lot of votes in his favor. With this win, he now holds a comfortable lead over Ronaldo, who has five Ballon d'Ors to his name.
#2 Eye-catching performances in Argentina's Copa America triumph
The fourth time proved to be the charm for Lionel Messi as he led Argentina to Copa America glory after three failed attempts. Messi was the standout player from the campaign as he finished as the top goalscorer (4) and the top assist provider (5) in the competition. It was Argentina's first major title since 1993, making them one of the top teams with the most international trophies in history.
It was the fifth appearance in the final of a major international competition, with the first one coming in the 2007 edition of Copa America. An international trophy was probably the biggest blemish on Messi's outstanding career and he has now achieved everything except the FIFA World Cup. Can he inspire them to World Cup glory in 2022, we will have to wait and find out.
#1 Lionel Messi's illustrious Barcelona career comes to an end
Leaving Barcelona after 20 years after the first training session with the club will probably go down as one of the greatest moments in Lionel Messi's career.
Messi helped Barcelona reach unparalleled heights since making his senior debut with the Catalan club in October 2004. He was a key part of the team that won the treble twice, first in the 2008-09 campaign and later in the 2014-15 season.
Messi is the all-time leading goalscorer for the La Liga club, scoring 672 goals in official fixtures. He has won 35 trophies with them, with the first one being La Liga in 2005 and the last one being Copa del Rey in 2021. His splendid spell with Blaugrana will go down as one of the greatest outings by a player with a single club in the history of the sport.
