\n During the 2020\/21 season, Lionel Messi set the record for the most consecutive seasons in which a particular player scored more than 30 club goals – 13 breaking Gerd Muller\u2019s previous record of 12. He also won the Pichichi trophy for ending the season as the top scorer in the La Liga tournament (for the 5th consecutive time<\/strong>). As per the rest of his career, throughout 2021, Lionel Messi dribbled past players with ease – he completed the most successful dribbles across all competitions, making his way around the opposition an impressive 228 times<\/strong>. That\u2019s over 40 times more than Alphonso Davies (182), Kylian Mbappe (172), Adama Traore (171) and Neymar (158). More importantly, in 2021, Messi carried his country, Argentina, to their first trophy since 1993, with a Copa Am\u00e9rica win over Brazil<\/strong> in the final. He was named the player of the tournament<\/strong> and the joint top scorer alongside Colombia\u2019s Luis Diaz. Apart from that, he was involved in 9 out of the 12 goals scored by Argentina – that\u2019s 75%<\/strong>! This was also Messi\u2019s first international trophy with his home country. After a recent hat-trick against Bolivia, he also became South America\u2019s top male international goalscorer<\/strong>, surpassing the great Pel\u00e9. And, to top it all off – despite his arguably slow start at Paris Saint-Germain – he went on to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or, making this his seventh such award.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Jorginho<\/p>\n <\/div>\n
\n The Italian midfielder won the EURO 2020<\/strong> with his national team in the summer of 2021. He played all matches, scoring the decisive penalty in the semi-final against Spain after having played the regista<\/em> role to perfection during the game. In the final against England, he failed his penalty, but luckily, Gigi Donnarumma (another player on the Ballon d\u2019Or list) saved Bukayo Saka\u2019s penalty to give Italy the trophy. Jorginho also won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea<\/strong> in the 2020\/21 season, playing in all the matches of the tournament (except one due to suspension) as well as the UEFA Super Cup<\/strong>. His role alongside N'golo Kante proved pivotal for his club to win the prestigious trophy, and he also won the UEFA Super Cup with Chelsea. Thomas Tuchel considers him untouchable<\/strong>, and we can see why. In August 2021, he was awarded the UEFA Men\u2019s Player of the Year Award<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Karim Benzema<\/p>\n <\/div>\n
\n After Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, Benzema stepped right into the limelight and went from potentially being left out of the starting 11 to being the club\u2019s main man. During the 2020\/21 La Liga season, Benzema scored more than a third of Real Madrid\u2019s goals in the league – 17 more than anyone else in the club<\/strong>. He also started the 2021\/22 season with 9 goals in the first 10 matches, and is considered to be one of the world\u2019s most in-form forwards. Not only has he stepped up when his club needed him the most, but he has also done so for his country. Benzema had not played for France since late 2015, but coach Didier Deschamps included him in the 26-man squad for the EURO 2020 – and he did not disappoint<\/strong>. Despite competition from Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, and Olivier Giroud for the spots up front, Benzema started all the 4 matches France played and scored a brace against Portugal, and another against Switzerland, taking his tally to 4 goals in as many matches<\/strong>. Benzema also featured in the UEFA Nations League semi-final and final, scoring on both occasions as France won the Nations League trophy,<\/strong> making him the most decorated French player in history with 27 titles won.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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N\u2019golo Kante<\/p>\n <\/div>\n
\n The hard-working midfielder might not have many goal and assist statistics to back up his performances, but he played a crucial part in Chelsea\u2019s Champions League win. He was presented the Man of the Match award in 4 out of 7 of the knock-out matches played<\/strong>, 3 of them being in the two semi-final legs against Real Madrid and the final against Manchester City! In 2021, he also won the UEFA Super Cup with Chelsea.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Cristiano Ronaldo<\/p>\n <\/div>\n
\n Since returning to Manchester United, the Portuguese superstar has not been impressing fans much. However, one cannot forget that Ronaldo won the Serie A Capocannoniere award last season with 29 goals in 33 matches played<\/strong>. After fearing he would join city rivals Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the Reds managed to bring him back to Old Trafford. They will be hoping he finds his goalscoring form (as well as his chances for the award) as soon as possible.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\nWhat Happened With the 2020 Ballon d\u2019Or?<\/h2>\n \n\n
\n The 2020 edition of the Ballon d\u2019Or was cancelled as a result of the pandemic's impact on world football. A few national leagues were cut short, while the EURO2020 was postponed to 2021. Therefore, France Football decided that the award ceremony should be cancelled, and the award was not given out.<\/p>\n\n
\n However, the Best FIFA Men\u2019s Player<\/strong> award still took place that year. The top 3 contenders were Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo. Robert Lewandowksi ended up winning the title with 52 votes ahead of Ronaldo (38) and Messi (35).<\/p>\n\n\n The 2020 award could have easily been Robert Lewandowski\u2019s too, after a majestic year in which he helped Bayern Munich secure a historic six trophies during the 2019\/20 season: the Bundesliga, DFB Cup, UEFA Champions League, DFL Supercup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup later on in February 2021.<\/p>\n\n
\n He also became the only player to win the continental treble as a goalscorer in every competition, scoring more goals in each competition than he played games! 34 goals in 31 Bundesliga games, 6 goals in 5 Cup matches, and 15 goals in 10 Champions League matches<\/strong>. Not only did he finish the season as the Champions League top scorer, but he was also the joint top assist man<\/strong> alongside Angel Di Maria with 6 assists.<\/p>\n\nBest Players Never To Win a Ballon d'Or<\/h2>\n \n\n
\n The Ballon d\u2019Or is received for an outstanding performance in a particular year, but it is only awarded to one person per year. What that means is that, if a particular player such as Xavi had some 5 or 6 great years but was never the one to reach the headlines, he never ended up getting the award.<\/p>\n\n
\n Here we will be sharing a list of the best players to have never won a Ballon d\u2019Or. We won\u2019t be mentioning Pel\u00e9 and Maradona, <\/strong>who won honorary Ballons d\u2019Or, since they could not receive the award in their playing days as they were not European players.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Xavi Hernandez<\/strong> – Won the EURO 2008 (and got Player of the Tournament), EURO 2012, UEFA Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup in 2009 in 2011, FIFA World Cup in 2010 all in the span of 4 years, made it to the top 3 nominees in 2009, 2010, and 2011, but always finished 3rd.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n - \n
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Andres Iniesta<\/strong> – Won the EURO 2008, EURO 2012 (and won Player of the Tournament and UEFA Best Player in Europe), UEFA Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup in 2009 in 2011, FIFA World Cup in 2010 all in the span of 4 years, made it to the top 3 nominees in 2010 and 2012, but finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n - \n
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Gianluigi Buffon<\/strong> – He got close to winning the title in 2006 after the FIFA World Cup win but came second after Fabio Cannavaro. Buffon was named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year 12 times, and won awards such as the UEFA Club Goalkeeper and Footballer of the Year in 2002\/03<\/strong>, Best European Goalkeeper 3 times. He was also named IFFHS\u2019s Best Goalkeeper 5 times and won the IFFHS Best Goalkeeper of the Decade, 21st Century and Past 25 Years,<\/strong> thanks to his performances for Juventus, Parma and Italy.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n - \n
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Dennis Bergkamp<\/strong> – The Ballon d\u2019Or runner-up in 1992 and 1993, Bergkamp came third in the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993 and 1997. He won the PFA Players\u2019 Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year in 1997\/98<\/strong>. Bergkamp was also was IFFHS\u2019s World Top Goal Scorer in 1992. Recently, when a journalist asked Thierry Henry (who played with the likes of Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho) who the best player he ever played with was, he chose Dennis Bergkamp.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n