However, the Bayern poacher had to make do with finishing second behind Messi in the 2021 Ballon d'Or running. Indeed, a contrite Messi even made a point of imploring France Football to retroactively award the 2020 trophy to Lewandowski during his acceptance speech and that his rival deserved to have his accomplishments recognised. Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or wins. After finishing third in 2007 and second in 2008, Messi won his first Ballon d'Or in 2009, before going on to win the award for the following three successive years. Thursday's award marked the seventh straight year that Messi and Ronaldo have finished in the top two for the Ballon d'Or. No one else has won since Kaka in 2007, when Ronaldo was second and Messi Which is why it seemed fair to provide only two options — Messi or Haaland — in reaching out to some of the top American soccer media voices to gauge their preference for the Ballon d’Or Messi's nomination comes a year after he was omitted from the shortlist. Should he win the men's Ballon d'Or this year, it would mark his eighth time winning the award -- the second most is Cristiano Ronaldo with five. In February, Messi also won the Best FIFA Men's Player award for a second time. - Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) The winner of the 2021 edition was Lionel Messi and he has won the award the most number of times. However, it makes for an interesting look as to how many times he has won the Ballon d’Or as compared to other players. Here is a look at the top 10 players with the most Ballon d’Or awards in football history: 10. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – 2 Messi and Roccuzzo, who were childhood friends and later reconnected in 2005, welcomed their first son, Thiago, in 2012. Their second son, Mateo, arrived in 2015, followed by their third son, Ciro Photo by David Ramos – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images. The Paris Saint-Germain No.30 has won seven Ballon d’Ors throughout his remarkable career, scoring a total of 799 goals while also providing .

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