Ballon d'Or ceremony LIVE: Messi and Lewandowski are heavy favourites

Ballon d’Or ceremony LIVE: Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski are the heavy favourites to be crowned the world’s best player in Paris with Karim Benzema, Jorginho and Mo Salah also in contention to land the prize

  • The winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or award will be announced on Monday night
  • PSG’s Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski are the favourites
  • Jorginho, Karim Benzema and Mohamed Salah are all also in with a chance
  • Follow the action from a glittering ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris

The winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or award will be announced on Monday night in Paris with Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski the heavy favourites.

Football’s most sought-after individual prize was abandoned in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning a new winner will be crowned tonight for the first time since Messi in 2019.

As well as the Argentine superstar and Lewandowski, Jorginho, Karim Benzema and Mohamed Salah are all worthy candidates for the prize after a stellar 12 months on the pitch.

Follow all the action as it unfolds at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris with Sportsmail’s KISHAN VAGHELA.

Host commentator

This is quite strong from Cristiano Ronaldo, who has torn into France Football’s Pascal Ferre in an Instagram post not long before the ceremony gets underway

Ferre recently claimed Cristiano had told him his ‘only ambition’ was to ‘retire with more Ballon d’Or [wins] than Messi’.

But Ronaldo has posted: ‘Today’s outcome explains why Pascal Ferré’s statements last week, when he said that I confided in him that my only ambition was to finish my career with more Golden Balls than Lionel Messi.

‘Pascal Ferré lied, he used my name to promote himself and to promote the publication he works for. It is unacceptable that the person responsible for awarding such a prestigious prize could lie in this way, in absolute disrespect for someone who has always respected France Football and the Ballon d’Or. And he lied again today, justifying my absence from the Gala with an alleged quarantine that has no reason to exist.’

https://www.instagram.com/p/CW3mpkfgtn8/

A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

Former goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and boss Julian Nagelsmann supporting the club’s striker in the building tonight…

Organisers of the Ballon d’Or award, France Football, teased the news on social media that they will introduce two new awards at Monday evening’s ceremony in Paris.

J29 – Luka Modric, Cesar Azpilicueta

J26 – Gerard Moreno, Nicolo Barella, Ruben Dias

25 – Phil Foden

24 – Pedri

23 – Harry Kane

J21 – Lautaro Martinez, Bruno Fernandes

20 – Riyad Mahrez

19 – Mason Mount

18 – Simon Kjaer

17 – Luis Suarez

16 – Neymar

15 – Raheem Sterling

14 – Leonardo Bonucci

13 – Giorgio Chiellini

12 – Romelu Lukaku

11 – Erling Haaland

Plenty of Premier League stars have already been named in the countdown for the award, with Chelsea striker the latest to come in at No 12.

His club team-mate Cesar Azpilicueta started it all off in joint 29th with Luka Modric, since which the likes of Ruben Dias, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Mason Mount, Harry Kane, Bruno Fernandes and Raheem Sterling have been named.

It’s that time of year again for the most distinguished individual award in the game, but we’ve had a little break from it recently.

The 2020 award was cancelled due to the pandemic but now Sportsmail brings you all the build-up and the event itself this time around from Paris.

PSG star Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich are the favourites, so join me to see if it is one of them who collects the award.

But first a bit of catching up to do…


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