"He deserved the Ballon d'Or and is the essence of football" - Javier Zanetti says PSG attacker Lionel Messi is 'the best of them all'
Lionel Messi was crowned the winner of the 2021 Ballon d'Or award, beating off stern competition from Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski. However, some people feel the accolade should've gone to the Polish forward instead, following his incredible goalscoring exploits during the year.
Former Argentina star Javier Zanetti has had his say on the subject. The 48-year-old insists Lionel Messi was a deserving winner of this year's Ballon d'Or award, rating him above all his rivals in the race for the coveted prize.
Javier Zanetti on Lionel Messi: "Messi is the best of them all. He was well deserving of the Ballon d'Or. Messi is the essence of football." This via an interview with @SuperMitre. https://t.co/b80a5yzNio
"Messi is the best of them all," the former Inter Milan defender was quoted as saying in an interview on Argentine radio station Radio Mitre.
"He was well deserving of the Ballon d'Or. Messi is the essence of football," Javier Zanetti added.
It was indeed an intense race for the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. The likes of Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho, Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Kevin De Bruyne all put up a great fight for the accolade but lost to Lionel Messi.
The PSG superstar came out on top following his success with Argentina in the Copa America this summer. Leo was in a class of his own, finishing with the highest number of goals and assists, as well as being named the best player in the tournament.
Messi and his seventh #ballondor! 😍 https://t.co/0DNO6Ztw2n
The 34-year-old also enjoyed a decent spell with Barcelona last season, playing an influential role as the Catalan giants claimed the Copa del Rey trophy. He finished the campaign with 38 goals and 14 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions.
Can anyone break Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or record?
After claiming the coveted prize once again this year, Lionel Messi has now raised his total number of Ballon d'Or triumphs to seven. That makes him the most successful player in the history of the accolade.
His closest rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, has won the award five times. The Portuguese's most recent triumph came in 2017 and it's looking unlikely he'll win it again in his career. With that in mind, it doesn't look like anyone will be able to match Leo's Ballon d'Or record anytime soon.