CELEBRITY
Lewandowski almost upstage Messi in Ballon d’Or award as voting details are revealed
It was a narrow escape for Lionel Messi as he won his seventh Ballon d’Or award in Paris on Monday night.
The result was almost going otherwise as second placed Robert Lewandowski was very close at winning.
There was very little to choose between the two superstars and this was reflected in the voting, with Messi only edging out his rival by 33 points.
Official data on exactly how many votes each of the 30 candidates received has been released by France Football, showing a tight contest between the Argentine and second-placed Lewandowski.
Egypt’s Mohamed Salah finished seventh as there was a considerable vote gap between him and sixth placed Crisitiano Ronaldo.
Final 2021 Ballon d’Or votes:
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona, PSG), 613 points.
2. Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Bayern Munich), 580 pts.
3. Jorginho (Italy, Chelsea), 460 pts.
4. Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid), 239 pts.
5. N’Golo Kanté (France, Chelsea), 186 pts.
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Juventus, Man Utd), 178 pts.
7. Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool), 121 pts.
8. Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium, Manchester City), 73 pts.
9. Kylian Mbappe (France, Paris Saint-Germain), 58 pts.
10. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy, AC Milan, PSG), 36 pts.
11. Erling Haaland (Norway, Borussia Dortmund), 33 pts.
12. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium, Inter Milan, Chelsea), 26 pts.
13. Giorgio Chiellini (Italy, Juventus), 26 pts.
14. Leonardo Bonucci (Italy, Juventus Turin), 18 pts.
15. Raheem Sterling (England, Manchester City), 10 pts.
16. Neymar (Brasil, Paris Saint-Germain), 9 pts.
17. Luis Suarez (Uruguay, Atletico Madrid), 8 points.
18. Simon Kjaer (Denmark, AC Milan), 8 pts.
19. Mason Mount (England, Chelsea), 7 pts.
20. Riyad Mahrez (Algiers, Manchester City), 7 pts.